Vanilla Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

275g soft brown sugar
225 plain flour
225ml milk
135g butter
3 eggs
50g plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
1 tbsp black treacle
2 level tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ level tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt

For the Icing:

450g sugar
150ml milk
110g butter
50g plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
1 heaped tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp Golden Syrup

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) then line two 18cm cake tins with greaseproof paper and grease the tins.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Place the chocolate and milk in a bain-marie over hot water and allow to slowly melt, then allow to cool.

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs together and gradually add to the butter and sugar mixture, adding a little of the flour to prevent curdling. Stir in the treacle and vanilla essence, mixing well. Fold-in the remaining flour at this point. Gradually add the chocolate mixture to form a thick batter.

Divide the batter equally between the two cake tins and bake for between 30–35 minutes in the centre of the oven. When done, turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and allow to cool.

To make the icing, place all the ingredients into a heavy-based saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has fully-dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Take off the heat and allow to cool for about ten minutes then beat with a whisk until the mixture becomes thick enough to spread easily. Use half this mixture to spread between the two layers of cake and use the remainder to spread on top of and around the sides of the cake (it is easiest to use a broad-bladed knife dipped in hot water for this).

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