Chocolate sponge cake

By Eve Scott

Good Food reader Eve Scott shares this easy, foolproof recipe for chocolate sponge cake, perfect for a birthday, afternoon tea or weekend treat.

Ingredients

Method

1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Butter and line two 20 cm sandwich tins with baking parchment.
2. Use a handheld electric whisk or a freestanding mixer to beat 175 gr softened unsalted butter and 175 gr golden caster sugar together in a bowl until creamy and light in colour. Then add 1 large egg, still mixing.
3. Sieve 50 gr cocoa powder, 100 gr self-raising flour and a pinch of salt into another bowl and add a third of that to your wet ingredients.
4. Once combined, add 1 more large egg and another third of the flour mixture and work that in.
5. Then add 1 more large egg and the remaining flour and beat until you have a smooth thick batter. If the batter is stiff, stir in a splash of milk to loosen it.
6. Divide the mixture between the tins and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
7. Bake for 20-25 mins until springy to the touch. Take out of the oven and leave in the tins for 10 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, make the buttercream by melting 50 gr dark or milk chocolate in the microwave, or in a bowl over just simmering water, making sure the base doesn’t touch the water. Leave to cool.
9. Beat 85 gr softened unsalted butter and half of the 175 gr sieved icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the remaining icing sugar and melted chocolate and mix together. If the icing is runny, chill in the fridge until it is firm but still spreadable.
10. To assemble the cake, put a small dollop of icing onto a plate and put one of the cakes on top. Spread the top of the cake with half the icing, leaving a 1 cm border around the edge.
11. Put the second cake on top and push down very gently. Spread the remaining icing over the top.