Best Ever Chocolate Cake

I think that there are two ways a return from holidays can go.

A) You are determined to got through your life with a broom. No more sitting in front of the TV, no more eating the same old meals over and over, no more same old same old. You are going to get out there explore, experience and do things.

You hang on to these good intentions in ever decreasing increments for about a month. And then there you are in front of a CSI Miami repeat eating spaghetti bolognese.

B) You are determined to make the most of all those wonderful things in your life that you've missed out on while you've been away.

You savour each and every one with new found gratitude in ever decreasing increments for about a week. And then there you are wishing your Mum would hurry up and get off the phone because dinner is late and a saucepan is about to boil over.

I tend to cover both bases, but mostly it's B. So one of the first things I had to bake when I got home was this chocolate cake. It is so soft and moist and chocolatey. I have made it a hundred times over and I still love it.

I made it for a picnic with my family. No family picnic I have been on has gone without a big gooey chocolate cake.

We sat in the long grass under the shade of a big tree. Heat hung in the air, cicadas were buzzing, magpies were warbling, colourful parrots flashed past, some kangaroos lazed under a nearby tree and one person was assigned full time to swatting the flies. I am truly blessed.

Best Ever Chocolate Cake
(adapted from Family Circle Classic Essential Chocolate)

Cream 125gm of butter, 1/2 cup caster sugar and 1/3 cup sifted icing sugar. Gradually add 2 lightly beaten eggs. Beat thoroughly.

Add 1/4 cup seedless blackberry jam and 1 tspn of vanilla extract. Beat until combined. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Sift together 11/4 cup self raising flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 1 tspn bicarbonate soda. Fold into batter with a metal spoon, alternately with 1 cup of milk. Stir until the mixture is just combined.

Pour into a greased and lined 20cm square tin. Bake for 45 minutes in a 180C oven. Be careful not to overcook. Leave for a few minutes in the tin and then cool on a wire rack.

Butter Cream

Combine 50gm of dark chopped chocolate, 25gm of butter, 1/4 cup sifted icing sugar and 3 tspn cream in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth and glossy. Spread over the top of the cooled cake.