I baked this moist and lovely chocolate cake with fudge frosting for the office last month to celebrate the October birthdays and it certainly went down a treat among the colleagues.

I had also made a very straight forward vanilla cheesecake (with the muscovado substituted for regular caster sugar) and my mother’s oat crisps – a real crowd pleaser.

The recipe for the lovely chocolate cake is courtesy of Smitten Kitchen one of my favourite food blogs out there. It is really easy to make, very moist thanks to the buttermilk and not too sweet. It is also incredibly easy to spread frosting over as it doesn’t crumble. The frosting is quite sweet and therefore works well with the less sweet cake. However if you haven’t got a very sweet tooth I would recommend a less sweet frosting.

I am certain this will become a staple in my repertoire as it is so easy to handle and tastes great. The cake was demolished within a few hours but I am fairly certain it will keep for a few days in the fridge if not eaten immediately.

Chocolate fudge cake, serves 12

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe.

230 g butter, at room temperature
380 g dark brown sugar
135 g caster sugar
4 eggs
475 ml buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla 
345 g plain flour
115 g cocoa
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

Fudge frosting:

55 g dark chocolate, melted and cooled
350 ml icing sugar (no need to sift)
115 g butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp single cream or whole milk
1 tsp vanilla 

Pre-heat oven to 160°C. Line the bottom of 2 approx 21Ø springform with parchment paper. Grease parchment and sides of tin. Using an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at time, beating each in until just incorporated and scraping down sides of bowl. Add vanilla, then buttermilk. 

Place flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, baking powder and salt in a sifter over the mixing bowl and sift ingredients in. Beat or stir dry ingredients into batter until just combined; scrape down bowl again. Divide batter between the two tins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tins then remove and leave to cool completely before frosting it.  

Beat the butter for the frosting until light and fluffy with an electric mixer, then add the sugar and melted chocolate, followed by the milk or cream and vanilla. 

Place one cake, upside down, on a cake plate and cover the top with half of the frosting. Place the next cake on top, also upside down, and cover the top with the rest of the frosting. Decorate and serve.