Devil's Food Cake

Ingredients

50 grams best-quality cocoa powder (sifted)

100 grams dark brown Muscovado sugar

250 millilitres boiling water

125 grams soft unsalted butter (plus some for greasing)

150 grams caster sugar

225 grams plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

For the Frosting

125 millilitres water

30 grams dark brown muscovado sugar

175 grams unsalted butter (cubed)

300 grams best-quality dark chocolate (finely chopped)

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Line the bottoms of two 8inch round sandwich tins with baking parchment and butter the sides.
3. Combine the cocoa and 100g dark Muscovado sugar into a bowl, pour in the boiling water & whisk to mix. Set aside.
4. Stir in the flour, baking powder & soda bicarbonate together in another bowl, set aside for a moment.
5. Cream the butter & caster sugar together & beat well until pale & fluffy.
6. Dribble the vanilla extract into the creamed butter & sugar & mix then for while. Add in 1 egg & quickly followed by a scoopful of flour mixture, then the second egg.
7. Keep mixing to incorporate the rest of the dried ingredients for the cake, and finally mix & fold in the cocoa mixture, scraping its bowl well with a spatula.
8. Divide the batter between the 2 prepared tins & bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Take the tins out & leave them on a wire rack for 5–10 minutes, before turning the cakes out to cool.
9. As soon as the cakes are baking in the oven, start preparing the frosting. Put the water, 30g  Muscovado sugar & 175g butter in a pan over a low heat to melt.
10. When the mixture begins to bubble, take the pan off the heat & add the chopped chocolate, swirling the pan so that all the chocolate is hit with heat, then leave for a minute to melt before whisking till smooth & glossy.
11. Leave for about 1 hour, whisking now & again. By which time the cakes will be cooled, the frosting should have been thicken & ready for the frosting.
12. Set one of the cooled cakes, with its top side down, on a cake stand or plate & spread with about a third of the frosting. Next, top that with the second cake, regular way up, and spread the remaining frosting over the top and all sides, swirling away with spatula. It is not necessary to smooth the frosting as some swirls created will make the cake looks nicer.