Chocolate, Fudgy Easter Cake by Dame Miranda Gore Browne

Chocolatey, fudgy and irresistible, this one-layer cake is topped with glossy ganache and little speckled chocolate Easter eggs by the fabulous Dame Miranda Gore Browne.

No soggy buttom here, just a beautiful, rich ingulgent chocolate cake.

Ingredients
100g chocolate, melted
100g butter, melted
225g self-raising flour
150g soft brown sugar
200g caster sugar
80g cocoa powder
3 eggs
100 ml of milk
100ml thick plain yogurt or crème fraiche
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
120ml of water
A pinch of salt

Ganache
180 ml of double cream
180g milk or dark chocolate

Decorations
Mini eggs
Primroses and spring flowers

1 x 23 cm round tin fully lined – cut a disc of baking paper for the base and a long strip to go around the outside or even better, with a cake tin liner as this is a runny mixture.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Cake Method
Melt the butter and chocolate with the water in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the sugars and cocoa powder and stir together well.

Put the eggs into a jug and beat well with a fork, add the milk, crème fraiche and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients with the chocolate mixture. Stir everything together and check there aren’t any pockets of flour or sugar, and it is all well combined.

Scrape the mixture into the lined tin and put into the oven to bake for about an hour.

Ganache Method
Put the cream and chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Put over a pan of barely simmering water. Once the chocolate starts to melt, stir into the cream and beat well. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Leave in the bowl at room temperature to thicken. This will take at least 4-5 hours but don’t be tempted to put it in the fridge as this will set it too hard.

Smooth the icing on top, decorate with mini eggs or with edible spring flowers.