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This is a really simple cake to make, but it tastes deliciously luxurious. It reminds me of childhood birthday parties, where mom or grandma made a home-made cake and stuck the candles in with their own loving hands. It will become a real family favorite, if my experience is anything to go by. A word of warning - it will not last very long, though it does keep well for a week in a cake tin. Further warning - you better forget to calorie count when you bake and eat this chocolate cake.

INGREDIENTS:
CAKE:
4 ounces of sugar
4 ounces of margarine
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence
2 large fresh eggs
6 ounces of self raising flour
1 and 1/2 half ounces of cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt

FILLING:
3 ounces of icing sugar
1 ounce of butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence
2-3 ounces of jam - Best Choices Are seedless strawberry or raspberry or black cherry

TOPPING:
2-3 ounces of good quality milk chocolate - Cadbury's is best
1 ounce of good quality dark chocolate - Cadbury's again.

METHOD:

First, grease and flour and 8" X 2" deep cake tin. In a large bowl, cream the sugar, margarine and vanilla essence till smooth. Beat in the eggs, one by one, then fold in two ounces of flour and the pinch of salt. Fold the rest of the flour in, two ounces at a time, mixing everything to a smooth consistency. Finally add the cocoa powder and baking powder, combining all to a light chocolatey creamy mix. Take care with the cocoa, it likes to fly everywhere.

Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 (180C, 350F) then pour the mixture into the greased cake tin, smoothing the surface evenly with a knife or spatula. Lick the mixing bowl. Bake towards the top of the oven for around 30-35 minutes, checking to see that the cake is pulliing away from the side of the tin, and risen in the middle. You will know it is cooked when it bounces back up when pressed gently with your finger. Turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Make up the butter cream filling by combining the icing sugar, butter or margarine and vanilla essence. Beat till quite smooth but spreadable. Add more icing sugar if the mix is too runny, more margarine if it is too stiff. Smell that vanilla! Once the cake has cooled, slice carefully through the middle, giving you two thinner cakes. Put one on a plate, then spread the jam liberally on that, the buttercream on the other and sandwich them together.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over very hot, but not boiling, water. Stir till it is melted and smooth. Spread this over the top of the cake; I used the spoon, smoothing the chocolate on with the back of it. Never worry if chocolate oozes over the sides of the cake, but aim for a thick covering on top. Use more chocolate if preferred. Lick the bowl and spoon.

Put your cake in the fridge for as long as it takes the chocolate to set. Hide it in the tin till you want to serve it to a good friend with a good coffee. Be ready to make another one the very next day.

Learn more about this author, Dolores Moore.
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