Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake (sandwich) tins.

Add all of the cake ingredients, except for the boiling water into a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or electric whisk beat the mixture until smooth.

Add the boiling water to the mixture, a little at a time until smooth. (Don’t worry if the mixture is runny at this stage.)

Divide the cake mixture between the 2 tins and bake in the oven for 25–35 minutes, or until the top is firm to the touch and when a skewer is inserted into the centre of the cake it comes out clean.

Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely before icing.

To make the icing, heat the chocolate and cream in a saucepan over a low heat until the chocolate melts. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth, glossy and thick. Leave aside to cool for 1–2 hours.

Once the Icing has cooled, remove the cakes from the tin by running a blunt knife around the inside of the cake tins to loosen the cakes, you can then carefully remove the cakes from the tins.

Place the cakes on top of each other and ice using the cooled chocolate icing and a pallet knife, decorate with your topping of choice.