Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

  • 250g butter, cut into cubes
  • 250g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 2 tbsp instant coffee powder (or granules)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ cup extra-light olive oil (or vegetable oil)
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup self-raising flour
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • ½ cup cocoa
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 cups caster sugar
  • 2 cups thickened cream
  • 500g dark chocolate (extra), roughly chopped

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and line 
a 22cm round cake pan with baking paper. Put butter, chocolate, coffee, vanilla and ¾ cup hot water in a saucepan and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
  2. Combine eggs, oil and buttermilk in 
a large jug. Sift flours, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add sugar and stir until well combined. Make a well in centre of flour mixture and add egg mixture. Stir slowly to combine. Add chocolate mixture, stirring constantly until well combined.
  3. Pour mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until 
a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool cake in pan.
  4. To make ganache, put cream and chocolate (extra) in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth and well combined. Pour into a bowl. Cool at room temperature or refrigerate until ganache is spreadable. Decorate cake with ganache, and white chocolate leaves if liked