Hands up who likes chocolate cake?

Me too but it has to be the right kind of chocolate cake – light, moist and melt in the mouth.  How many times have you seen the most amazing looking chocolate cake only to bite into it and be disappointed with a dry, crumbly texture.  Yes, you know what I mean.

I love to cook but I’m more of a starter and mains kind of girl so if I turn my hand to baking it has to be something simple and quick that produces a stunning result.  And everyone needs a good chocolate cake in their repertoire, right?

Enter stage left this gorgeous and effortless Chocolate Olive Oil Cake courtesy of Nigella, the Queen of Quick & Easy.

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

150ml light in flavour Olive Oil

50g good quality Cocoa Powder, sifted

125ml Boiling Water

2 tspns Vanilla Extract

150gm Ground Almonds

1/2 tspn Bicarbonate of Soda

Pinch of Salt

200gm Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

Preheat the oven to 170 deg C and grease a 22cm springform cake tin with some olive oil and line the base with baking paper.

Whisk the cocoa powder with the boiling water in a jug or small bowl until you have a smooth but runny paste and then add the vanilla extract and set aside to cool.

Mix the ground almonds with the bicarbonate of soda in another bowl with the pinch of salt.

Using the paddle attachment on your freestanding mixer, beat together the sugar, olive oil and eggs on high for about three minutes until you have a pale, thickened and aerated cream.

Turn down the speed and drizzle in the cocoa mixture and when combined, slowly tip in the ground almond mixture.  Scrape down and stir with a spatula before pouring the batter into the cake tin.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean but with a few sticky crumbs on it. Allow to cool for ten minutes and then ease the sides from the tin and spring out.

When cool, sprinkle the top with icing sugar.

Serve on its own, with fresh fruit or a coulis (raspberry is especially good) and either cream or ice cream.

Beautiful, moist and moreish.  Go on, indulge!