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This chocolate cake is so light and velvety smooth, it’s okay to cover it with such a sinful chocolate fudge coating.

Serves 8

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: Approximately 45 minutes + 20 minutes for icing.

What You’ll Need:

For the cake:

• 6oz (150g) self-raising flour
• 2oz (50g) cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 6oz (150g) demerera sugar
• 6oz (150g) butter or margarine
• 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp boiling water
• 6oz (150g) plain chocolate
• 1 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 3 eggs

For the fudge:

• 1  140g bar of Cadbury’s Caramel
• 1 tbsp cold water
• 1oz (25g) butter
• 2oz (50g) icing sugar
• 1oz (25g) cocoa powder
• 2 tsp milk

What To Do:

1. Lightly oil and base-line two 8-inch sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.  Preheat the oven to 190C/ gas mark 5.
2. Break the chocolate into small pieces and put in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water with the liquid coffee.  Put the butter in the microwave for a few seconds until very soft; it doesn’t need to melt completely.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.
4. Put the chocolate, butter, sugar, yoghurt and beaten eggs into the well and use a handheld electric whisk to thoroughly combine everything into a smooth, runny mixture.  (This only takes half a minute.)
5. Divide the mixture into the prepared tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a skewer or very sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Let the cakes cool for a minute then run a blunt knife around the edges to loosen.  Turn onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
6. To make the fudge icing:  Put the water in a heatproof bowl with the Cadbury’s Caramel, broken into pieces, and leave over a pan of boiling water for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted.  Take the bowl off the heat and leave to cool for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the chocolate from wrinkling and setting.
7. Meanwhile, sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a separate bowl with the milk and softened butter and beat until smooth.  Pour the melted chocolate into the butter icing and mix thoroughly.
8. Use about 1 tablespoon of the fudge to sandwich the two sponges together.  With the cake on the wire rack over a large sheet of greaseproof paper, slowly pour the remainder of the icing into the centre of the cake, using a spatula to get every last bit out of the bowl.  Dip a blunt dinner knife into a mug of hot water and spread the fudge evenly over the top and sides of the cake.  Leave to set for a few minutes.

If you can stand to save some of this delicious cake for later, store in an airtight tin at room temperature.

Recipe by Gill Holocombe.