Chocolate Cake Without Cocoa Powder

Preheat your oven to 180ºc (350º). Grease two 8inch cake tins with butter, and then line them with baking paper to ensure the cakes don’t stick.

Separate the eggs carefully. Add the egg yolks to the softened butter and caster sugar. Whisk on high speed for 2/3 minutes, until pale and creamy.

In a heat-proof bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave. Make sure to stir it every 30 seconds to ensure it doesn’t burn. Once it’s melted, set aside to cool. Once it’s cooled you can add it to the egg yolk, sugar and butter mixture. Whisk for a further minute until it is fluffy again.

Sieve in the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add the milk. Whisk briefly on low speed until just combined.

With clean utensils and in a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites. It helps to whisk it on low speed first until bubbles form, then whisk on high speed. Whisk until soft peaks form. Then add a teaspoon of caster sugar which will help the egg whites stiffen up, and whisk again for a couple of minutes. You should end up with a soft, cloud-like meringue which should hold stiff peaks.

Put half the whisked egg whites into the chocolate mixture and fold in until incorporated. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold until smooth and creamy. If you find the mixture is not coming together easily, whisk it very briefly (about 5 seconds). This should help it come together and become smooth and incorporated nicely.

Divide the mixture evenly between the two lined baking tins and smooth the top. Bake for 20 minutes at 180º, then turn the oven down to 160º and bake for a further 5 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. If your cake is browning too quickly, add a layer of foil on top. Once cooked, leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes. Then turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack until fully cooled.

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and melt over a low heat until smooth.

Once melted, pass the mixture through a sieve. This will ensure no lumps remain and that the icing is silky smooth.

Cover with clingfilm and leave to cool at room temperature. Stir it every 15/20 minutes to avoid any lumps forming. After around 30 minutes, it should have thickened enough to spread onto the cake. However if you leave the icing to cool for too long, it may firm up too much to spread onto the cake. If this happens, put it in the microwave for 5 seconds or so until a runnier consistency again.

Once your cakes and icing are cool, it’s time to assemble the cake. Cover one layer of cake with half the icing, then place the other layer of cake on top. Spread the rest of the icing on the top of the cake. I chose to top this cake with raspberries, but you can decorate it however you like! Once iced, put the cake in the fridge for half an hour or so, then it’s ready to enjoy!