Jane's chocolate cake

This recipe is the lovers' sexy midnight snack in the movie It's Complicated, starring Meryl Streep and Steve Martin. Decorate the top of the cake with halved fresh strawberries and whipped cream laced with icing sugar and a drop of vanilla essence for that extra special touch.

Ingredients

100 g	Butter, soft
250 ml	Milk
300 g	Self raising flour, sifted
100 g	Chocolate, melted (Main)
15 g	Cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp	Bicarbonate soda, sifted
225 g	Caster sugar, use golden if you can find it
1 tsp	Vanilla
3	Eggs

Icing

100 g	Butter
225 g	Chocolate, broken up (Main)
142 ml	Double cream, carton

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Grease a 20cm round, deep cake tin and line with baking paper.
3. Place all of the cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly until smooth.
4. Spread into the cake tin and bake for an hour or until the sponge is firm in the centre.
5. Then cool for 10 minutes, before turning out on a rack to cool.
6. Meanwhile, to prepare the icing, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave for around 3 minutes, stirring halfway through.
7. Stir until smooth, then beat in the cream and let it cool a little.
8. Halve the cake through the middle. Spread a quarter of the icing on one half and sandwich both sides together.
9. Spread the rest over the tops and sides.

Chef's tip

Jane recommends that you decorate the top of the cake with halved fresh strawberries and whipped cream laced with icing sugar and a drop of vanilla essence for that extra special touch.