My Amazingly Soft & Moist Chocolate Sponge Cake

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 8 ounces self raising flour
• 8 ounces margarine
• 6 ounces granulated sugar
• 3 large free range eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened, best quality available)
• 1/4 cup water
• confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Recipe

• 1 preheat your oven to 180c & grease a 10" round springform cake tin.
• 2 warm the margarine up in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds, it needs to be extremely soft but not liquid.
• 3 in a fairly large bowl, beat the sugar & the warmed margarine together. unlike a regular sponge, you don't need to do this for more than a couple of minutes - creaming to get it fluffy is not required here!
• 4 next beat in the eggs, once they are fully incorporated add the baking powder & cocoa powder. carefully mix them in then quickly beat the mix for a minute.
• 5 mix in the flour, being sure to get it well mixed & break up any lumps that may be lurking.
• 6 finally, mix in the water little by little.
• 7 pour the cake batter into the tin, level off & place in the centre of the oven to bake for 40 minutes.
• 8 as soon as 40 minutes have passed, turn the oven off & leave the cake in there for 10-15 minutes before removing.
• 9 leave the cake in it's tin for 10 mins then pop out & leave to cool on the serving plate.
• 10 once the cake has cooled, give it a generous dusting of confectioners sugar.