Recipe For The Ultimate Chocolate Cake

I'm not going to pretend I'm the next Mary Berry of the baking world because frankly, I'm not that great. However, due to my love affair with cake and, anything else mildly sugary, I have spent many hours in the kitchen trying to make concoctions that kind of resemble what you would find on the set of Marie Antoinette. As like any girl, I am a lover of chocolate, so I have attempted to make chocolate cake hundreds of times, and believe with this recipe I have finally achieved a sponge which is edible and, (wait for it!) enjoyable! Get in! So if your like me and you wouldn't exactly call yourself a Domestic Goddess, this simple recipe is both easy and scrumptious!

chocolate + cake = heaven!

What you are going to need is:

• 225g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 large free-range eggs
• 100g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• A little milk

1. Firstly preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with a little butter (I never bother with grease-proof paper, far too technical for me). In a bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.
2.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa, then lightly fold into the mixture.
3. Add a little milk until you have a dropping consistency, then divide between the tins.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes. I normally check if its done by inserting a sharp knife through the middle. If it comes out clean it is ready! Though sometimes its better to take it out when its not entirely finished as it makes the sponge stay soft and a little gooey.

For the icing:

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, or alternatively in a microwave. Leave to cool slightly.
2. In a bowl, beat the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy, then slowly fold in the melted chocolate.
3. Make sure both sponges are completely cooled before spreading the icing sugar on top of both. Then sandwich together!

Finally you can decorate the cake however you like! This time I decided to simply add a packet of Maltesers and sprinkle a pinch of cocoa powder over them. Pure chocolate heaven!

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

Hello...

So...um...okay. Right! Well I'm just going to come out and say it...I'm a blogger virgin. There I said it. I've never attempted to write a blog before. And haven't got the faintest idea about the 'Dos' and 'Don'ts' of the blogging world. But as a recent graduate and currently *gulp* unemployed I realized I had a lot of free time on my hands. So I thought why not. The purpose of this blog is just to share my love of beautiful things, and all that interests me. This mainly being recipes, crafts, decor, travel and literature. So I guess this site comes under the category of 'Lifestyle'...whatever that means.

However, for me, this blog shall come under the category of 'Therapy' or 'Self-Help'. Hopefully it will distract me enough so as in my current job-less desperation, I won't go running down to the local park to seek sympathy, smoke fags and drink Red Stripe with my fellow unemployed. I don't want it to come to that. I don't like cigarettes or the taste of beer...or being smelly.

I wish I paid more attention to the newspapers about the rubbish employment opportunities for graduates. They did try to warn me. But like other care-free students I never thought it would effect me. All I had to do was click my fingers, maybe exchange my grubby student jogging bottoms fro some high heels, and walk straight into an office. Well, as i'm starting to realize the older I get, I was wrong. Again. To make matters worse I read today that the graduate job situation in England is only getting worse, and there has been a boom of twenty-somethings seeking medication for depression. Talk about kicking a girl when she's down.

Hopefully this blog will keep me distracted from the gruesome application process and ruthless rejections long enough so I don't have to seek medical help. I just have to stay productive...

So this site will function as a scrapbook of all my projects and pretty things that I love! Welcome and enjoy!