Foolproof Beginners’ Chocolate Cake

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and spray a 24cm (9 inch) round baking tin with oil. Line the bottom of the tin with baking paper.

Prepare the dry ingredients. Into a large mixing bowl, put in the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk the ingredients together, then set aside.

Prepare the wet ingredients. Into a large mixing bowl, put in the oil, egg, vanilla and milk. Whisk the ingredients together, then set aside.

Place the dry ingredients on top the the wet ingredients. Beat/whisk the ingredients until they have just come together. Get the hot coffee and pour it in as a steady thin stream into the cake batter, beating/whisking as you add the coffee. Mix until the batter comes together well.

Transfer the cake batter into your prepared tin, then bake for around 40 minutes or until a skewer put in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before putting the ganache on top. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack after it has cooled in the tin for a while.

While the chocolate cake is baking, prepare the ganache. Place the cream into a heatproof bowl (I use a large liquid measuring jug) and microwave until it just reaches boiling point (around 1min +/-). Place the milk chocolate chips in the cream and let it sit for around 3-5 minutes. After, whisk the chocolate and cream together. It should be very smooth with no visible chunks of chocolate. Let the ganache cool completely before using.

When the cake and the ganache has cooled completely, place the ganache on top of the cake. Start by putting the ganache in the middle, then gently spread it out to the sides. Top with chocolate sprinkles. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 5 days.