I’m gradually making good on my “fantastic idea” to make all the cakes which pop up in my first novel, Art and Soul. This week it’s chocolate fudge cake, which is the favourite of Becky, my main character.

I searched around for a while, looking for a chocolate cake recipe I believed would produce the texture I wanted. I finally went with one from BBC Good Food and it’s delicious!

Ingredients

• 175 g self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 150 g caster sugar
• 2 eggs (I used medium)
• 150 ml (1/4 pint) vegetable oil
• 150 ml (1/4 pint) semi skimmed milk (I used a mix of skimmed and full… it was what we had in the fridge!)
• 2 tbsp golden syrup

Method

• So easy. Sieve all the dry ingredients into a bowl and then put them in a food processor.
• Add the eggs, golden syrup, milk and oil. Blend everything until smooth.
• The mixture is quite liquid – that’s ok! Pour it into two, lined 7-inch round tins and then bake in an oven pre-heated to 180 degrees C for 25-30 minutes.

For the coating and filling – blend these ingredients together to form a smooth cream:

• 150 g butter/margarine
• 300 g icing sugar
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder

You don’t have to pipe the buttercream between the two cakes or on top, but I felt like giving rosettes a try. I covered the cake in a smooth-ish layer first, applying the buttercream with a knife, then used a piping bag fitted with a star tip to make the rosettes.