Classic chocolate cake

If there's one cake recipe to have under your belt, it's a crowd-pleasing chocolate version that will take you from children's birthdays to your next dinner party.

• Ingredients

•  1 1/3 cups (200g) plain flour
•  2 tablespoons cocoa
•  1 teaspoon baking powder
•  1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
•  200g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
•  225g unsalted butter, softened, chopped
•  1 cup (220g) caster sugar
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  4 eggs
•  1/2 cup (125ml) milk
•  Chocolate ganache icing and chocolate curls, to decorate

• Method

1. Step 1
   Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease and line a 24cm round springform cake pan.
2. Step 2
   Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Set aside.
3. Step 3
   Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (don't let bowl touch water). Cool slightly.
4. Step 4
   Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. With beaters on medium speed, add vanilla, then add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour in cooled chocolate and beat until well combined. Beat in a third of sifted ingredients, followed by a third of the milk. Repeat until all ingredients are incorporated, beating until smooth.
5. Step 5
   Pour mixture into the pan and bake for 45-55 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto rack to cool completely.
6. Step 6
   To serve, spread the icing over the top and sides of the cake using a hot palette knife, then decorate with chocolate curls.
7. Step 7
   To make chocolate ganache: Melt 150g chopped good-quality dark chocolate with 125ml pure cream and 20g unsalted butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (don't let the bowl touch the water). Stir until well combined, then set aside for 30 minutes to cool and thicken before use.
8. Step 8
   To make chocolate curls: Using a palette knife, spread melted chocolate 2-3mm thick on a hard clean surface such as a glass chopping board or marble slab that you can move. Stand at room temperature until almost set. Shave curls using a peeler or palette knife, pulling towards you at an angle. If the chocolate breaks, it is set too hard - leave in a warm place until more pliable. To make small curls, simply run a peeler along the side of a block of chocolate.