Rich Chocolate Cake

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 185 g butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 1 3/4 cups caster sugar (250mlcup)
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 cup water
• 90 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 30 g butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons hot water, approximately

Recipe

• 1 grease and line a deep 23cm round cake pan.
• 2 combine butter, essence, sugar, eggs, sifted flour, cocoa and water in a large bowl and beat on low speed with electric mixer until ingredients are combined.
• 3 increase speed to medium, and beat for about 3 minutes or until mixture is smooth and changed in colour.
• 4 spread into prepared pan.
• 5 bake in a moderate oven for about 1 1/2 hours.
• 6 stand 5 minutes before turning on to wire rack to cool.
• 7 spread cold cake with icing.
• 8 chocolate icing: melt chocolate and butter in bowl over hot water, gradually stir in sifted icing sugar, then stir in enough hot water to mix to a spreadable consistency.