I ran out of titles for chocolate cakes. I was thinking… the old fashion chocolate cake? The classic chocolate cake? Or maybe just THE CHOCOLATE CAKE? If you have any ideas, feel free to share.

As some of you may know, my baked goods can be purchased at Hangry Ting and this is one of my signature cakes. To me, what makes a good chocolate cake is the texture – it must be moist, light and fluffy. Once you have a good chocolate cake batter, you can pretty much use it for any occasion and with any kind of frosting. This batter is super easy to make and it goes well with cream cheese frosting, chocolate ganache and even whipped chocolate cream.

Ingredients for the cake 

1. 200g unsalted butter (room temperature)
2. 150g caster sugar
3. 3 eggs
4. 150ml buttermilk
5. 1 tbsp honey
6. 220g self-raising flour
7. 1/2 tsp salt
8. 40g cocoa powder
9. 1 tsp vanilla essence
10. 1 punnet of strawberries (optional)
11. 50g dark chocolate melted

Ingredients for the frosting

1. 300ml whipping cream
2. 50g caster sugar
3. 2 tbsp cocoa powder
4. 1 tsp vanilla essence

Directions

Preparation time: 15-20min
Baking time: 30-35min or when the skewer comes out clean 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Grease and line two 20cm cake pan
3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt in a separate bowl
4. Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and whisk it until it becomes light and fluffy
5. Reduce the speed to low and add in the eggs one at a time
6. Add in 1 tbsp of honey and 1 tsp vanilla essence
7. Stir in the the flour mixture and buttermilk into the batter by alternating between the two
8. Pour the cake mixture evenly into the two pans and place it in the oven to bake for 30-35min or when the skewer comes out clean
9. Leave the cake out to cool completely

To make the frosting

1. Place the whipping cream, caster sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla essence into a mixing bowl
2. Using a hand whisk, whisk the mixture in high speed until stiff peaks are formed
3. After the cake has cooled down completely, sandwich them together with half the cream and spread the remaining cream over the top and sides of the cake.
4. Using a spoon, make drizzles of melted dark chocolate over the cream and leave it to cool before arranging the strawberries.