⫽ choco-love cake

here's a beautifully soft and gorgeous cake to make for those you love:

it's light as a feather so you can have a big slice:

get your tins ready for a heavenly chocolate feast:

*it goes without saying that for this cake it's worth getting the best chocolate and cocoa powder you can get:

I use green & blacks organic: all other ingredients are organic where possible*

you will need:

for the cake .....

200g plain flour

4 tablespoons cocoa powder 

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

200ml milk

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 large eggs

100g butter ~ softened

175g caster sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

for the syrup ....

4 tablespoons of apricot jam

2 tablespoons lemon juice

for the filling ....

50g butter

100g icing sugar

100g chocolate ~ at least 60% cocoa solids

preheat your oven to 190°c/ gas 5/ 375°f

grease two 20cm round cake tins

*I cut some round greaseproof for the bottoms as this baby can be tricky to get out
 if you weren't liberal enough with the greasing: better safe than sorry*

stir the lemon juice into the milk to curdle it:

in a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy:

add the beaten eggs a little at a time:

sift the flour, cocoa, bicarb and baking powder into a bowl:

now add a little of this to your butter/sugar mix along

with some of the milk:

beat well and continue to do this until your batter is mixed:

*it might be quite thick but don't worry*

stir in the vanilla extract and divide between the prepared tins:

bake for 20 ~ 25 minutes until springy to the touch:

leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes then turn out

onto a cooling rack:

prick the bases gently all over:

now heat the apricot jam and lemon juice together and  

drizzle over your cooling cakes:

for the filling ....

melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of

simmering water *make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water*:

set aside to cool slightly:

in a bowl, cream together the butter and sifted icing sugar until smooooth:

now stir in the shiny gorgeous chocolate:

and pile onto one of your cakes:

sandwich them together and shower with icing sugar:

when you can contain yourself no longer ....

slice and eat and smile:

with ❤