CHOCOLATE CAKE

Serves 6–8

100g Dutch (unsweetened) cocoa powder, sifted, plus extra for dusting

200g plain flour, sifted

200g sugar

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 tsp natural vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped

350ml whole milk or alternative

(see note) or as needed

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and dust with sifted cocoa powder. Tap upside down to remove any excess.

3. Place the dry ingredients together in a bowl (do make sure the cocoa powder is sifted well to ensure you don’t have any problems with lumps later). Add the vanilla to the milk, then add this, bit by bit, to the dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon until combined and smooth. If the batter is too stiff, you can add more milk (or even water).

4. Pour into the tin and gently smooth the top. Bake for roughly 30 minutes, or until the centre of the cake feels springy to the touch and it smells cooked - it will be distinctly chocolatey.

5. When it has cooled enough to handle, remove from the tin and serve as desired - dusted with icing sugar or, when completely cooled, covered in ganache, perhaps with some berries on top or whipped cream on the side.

Note: I’ve experimented with countless versions of this cake, especially making it dairy-free by replacing the milk with alternatives - I’ve tried it with almond milk and coconut milk

(my personal favourite as it makes the cake so buttery you would never guess it had none); coffee, which brings out the flavour of the chocolate beautifully (I go with the freshly made filtered coffee or an Italian-style moka coffee); and simply water (yes, it works!)