Easy Chocolate Birthday Cake

      Easy birthday cake for all ages.

    Recipe from: BBC Food recipes ( Dan Lepard)
    Ingredients

    For the cake:
    100g unsalted butter
    250g castor or brown sugar
    50ml sunflower oil
    25g cocoa powder
    2 tsp vanilla extract
    4 medium free- range eggs
    80ml milk
    100ml double cream
    300g plain flour
    3 tsp baking powder


    For the cocoa frosting:
    25g cocoa powder
    300g icing sugar
    50g butter
    50ml double cream


    For the filling
    250ml double cream, whipped until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed
    150g jam

I know, I have to be better at swirling frosting:)

   Method

   1.  For the cake, line the base of deep 20cm / 9in cake tin with non-stick paper and pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

   2.  Melt butter over low heat in a small pan, pour into a bowl with sugar, oil, cocoa powder and vanilla. Beat well until smooth, then whisk in eggs followed by milk and cream.

   3.  Sift flour and baking powder into the butter mixture and beat until smooth, spoon into the prepared tin and cover the top of the tin with aluminium foil.

   4.  Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil and further bake for 20 minutes, or the tops is springy and skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

   5.  Remove cake from oven and set it aside to cool completely.

   6.  Meanwhile, make the cocoa frosting. Mix cocoa powder and icing sugar in a bowl. Melt butter for a few seconds in the microwave, or in a small pan over a low heat. Mix the melted butter and the cream into the sugar and cocoa, and stir until smooth.

   7.  To assemble the cake, remove the cake from the tin, trim top of the cake to make it flat, cut the cake in half horizontally. Put the bottom half of the cake onto a serving plate and spread with whpped cream. Top with the jam.

   8.  Spread the cocoa frosting onto the top of the cake and swirl it with a spoon, then carefully place it onto the bottom half of the cake.