Why not bake a chocolate cake this weekend? I’ve never really needed an occasion for chocolate cake!

This is my favourite chocolate cake recipe, perhaps because – being my grandmother’s recipe- it reminds me of my childhood. But I still love it and make it today because it’s light, made so by the fluffy egg whites that you whip up and add in. Give it a try- you won’t be disappointed!

Here’s what goes in:

2 cups of cake flour

1 and a half cups of castor sugar

1 cup of cooking oil

1 cup of boiling water

2 teaspoons of baking powder

6 tablespoons of cocoa powder

8 eggs

How to do it:

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C and grease and line either one deep cake tin, or 2 smaller round sandwich cake tins. Mix the oil and boiling water and set this aside to cool. Separate the eggs, and place the yolks and egg whites into 2 large separate bowls. Add the sugar and vanilla essence to the egg yolks, and then beat them with a hand-held blender until they are thick and pale yellow. Add the flour, cocoa and one teaspoon of baking powder and continue to blend. Finally add the water and oil.

Using clean beaters, whisk the egg whites until they are thick and stiff and then fold in the remaining teaspoon of baking powder. Fold this into the chocolate mixture, keeping the batter light and airy. Pour it into your cake tins and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a skewer, when inserted into the cake, comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before icing with perhaps a chocolate butter icing, whipped cream or caramel treat.