Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake

A nostalgic two-layer chocolate sandwich cake with a silky chocolate buttercream-style frosting, made quickly in a food processor.

Ingredients

• 200g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 0.5 teaspoon baking powder
• 40g cocoa powder
• 175g soft unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 150ml sour cream

For the icing: 75g unsalted butter

• 175g dark chocolate, melted and cooled
• 300g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 125ml sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4 and butter and line two 20cm sandwich tins.
2. Put all the cake ingredients into a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth, creamy batter.
3. Divide between the two tins and bake for about 35 minutes until risen and springy; cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.
4. For the icing, melt the chocolate and let it cool. In a processor, blitz the butter, icing sugar, golden syrup, sour cream and vanilla until smooth, then add the melted chocolate and blitz again.
5. Sandwich the cooled cakes with about a third of the icing, then spread the rest over the top and sides.
6. Leave to set slightly before slicing.

Notes

Based on Nigella Lawson’s Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake (Feast / nigella.com).