We have tried many different chocolate cake recipes over the years, and this is, hands down our favourite!
We use Countdown's Free From flour but if you have a favourite flour feel free to substitute that.
Ingredients
200g Free From self-raising flour
100g milk chocolate
40g cocoa powder
230g caster sugar
230g soft butter
4 large eggs
1½ tsp orange extract
2 tsp milk
How to bake the cake:
Pre-Heat your oven to 180C.
Line two 20cm round sandwich tins.
Melt milk chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in-between until melted.
Put remaining cake ingredients into a large bowl. Beat together on low or by hand until the ingredients are combined.
Add the melted chocolate and mix at low speed until combined.
Split the cake mixture between the two tins. Bake for 30-35mins until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in tin for 5 mins before turning out of tin. Put on a wire rack to finish cooling.
While the cake is cooking or cooling, you have time to make some icing..
Icing ingredients:
250g soft butter
250g Icing sugar
150g milk chocolate
40g cocoa powder
½ tsp orange extract
A little milk
How to make the icing:
Melt the chocolate in the microwave, just like you did with the chocolate you used in cake recipe. Once it is melted, let it cool a little.
Beat the butter using an electric mixer or by hand until soft.
Add the icing sugar, cocoa powder and orange extract and beat until combined.
Slowly add the melted milk chocolate and beat until combined.
The buttercream needs to be spreadable. If it is too thick beat in 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until it is spreadable.
When the cakes are cool, it is time to decorate!
Once the cakes are cool, sandwich them together with a generous helping of the icing. Spread the remaining icing over the cake. Then let you imagination run wild and decorate it any way you please!
