Rich Chocolate Sponge Cake

Melted dark chocolate adds richness and flavor to this tempting and easy to mix cake. Recipe serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

4 ounces (125 g) unsalted butter, diced, or polyunsaturated margarine
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups self-rising (raising) flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup milk
2 ounces (50 g) dark cooking chocolate, melted
Icing sugar, to dust

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease an 7 inch (18 cm) round cake tin. Line the tin with greaseproof or baking paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift together the flour and cocoa, then carefully fold into the creamed mixture using a large metal spoon.
4. Stir in the milk and the warm, melted chocolate, until evenly combined. Transfer the mixture to the tin. Level the surface, making a slight hollow in the center.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a warm skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes then turn out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Tips: If baking the cake in a ridged tin (as the cake in the photograph has), grease the tin thoroughly, then dust with 4 teaspoons flour, and tap out any excess. This stops the cake from sticking in the ridges and makes it easier to turn out. For a milder, sweeter-flavored chocolate cake, substitute drinking chocolate for cocoa and use milk chocolate instead of dark cooking chocolate.