Serves 10

Ingredients

250g/9oz self raising flour

3 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

280g/10 oz golden caster sugar

200g/ 7oz unsalted butter

250ml/9 fl oz Coca-Cola

100ml/ 3 ½ fl oz milk

2 large eggs

1 tspn vanilla extract

For the frosting

200g/ 8 oz unsalted butter

3 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

400g/14 oz icing sugar, sifted

200ml Coca-Cola

To decorate, dark and white chocolate curls or caraque, optional

Method

Preheat oven to 180c/fan 160/gas 4. Grease a 23cm/9in spring form cake tin and line with baking paper.

Sift flour, cocoa & bicarb into large bowl and stir in the sugar. Slowly melt butter and cola in saucepan over a low heat then s add this to dry ingredients along with milk, whisked eggs & vanilla, stirring all the time. Once thoroughly but gently combined, pour mixture (which will be very liquid but don’t worry) into the prepared tin and bake for about 40-50 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave in tin on wire rack for about 10 mins, then remove spring release and allow to cool on its base.

To make the icing: To begin put the Coca-Cola in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce until you have about 1-2 tbsp concentrated thick syrup, leave to cool. Using a hand whisk or processor, mix the butter with the icing sugar and cocoa powder a little at a time. Add your reduced Coca-Cola syrup and mix well.

Spread your butter icing roughly over the top and sides of your cake and decorate with chocolate curls or any decoration of your choice.

If you don’t want to use butter icing, I often split the cake in half and fill with whipped double cream and dust the top with cocoa powder.

 

To get ahead; the cake will freeze un-iced for up to a month.