The Absolute Best Chocolate Cake Ever!

You may think that I may be pushing it with this title, but I cannot write anything else than in the highest tones of this cake! It is from Nigella Lawson's "Nigella Bites" and originally called a Chocolate Fudge Cake I believe, but this is seriously underestimated! I have been baking this cake for years now and it never, even once, failed or failed to impress! This particular one I made for my best friend's birthday, Happy Birthday Jonas by the way :) I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

For the cake:

400 g of flour
250 g of sugar
100 g of brown sugar
50 g of cocoa powder
30 g (3 tablespoons) of baking powder (I use the 3 tablespoons as guidance, not 30 g)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 eggs
150 ml soured cream
1 packet of bourbon vanilla sugar (or 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract)
175 g of butter, melted and cooled down
125 ml of corn oil (or sunflower oil)
300 ml ice cold water

For the buttercream:

175 g of dark chocolate (60% minimum)
250 g of soft butter
275 g of icing sugar, sifted
1 packet of bourbon vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract again)

Preheat the oven to 180° C and grease two baking tins of 20 cm in diameter. I always use two 26 cm ones, the only difference is that the cake won't be as high but that's about it :) Mix the flour, the sugar, the cocoa and the baking powder and salt in a big bowl. In a second small bowl, whisk the eggs with the soured cream and the vanilla sugar or vanilla extract until they form a smooth mixture. In a third, very big bowl, mix together the butter and the oil with a handmixer until they combine, then add the water bit by bit whilst still whisking it with the mixer. Add all the dry ingredients to the butter-oil mixture at once and mix in well. Lastly, add the egg-soured cream mixture to the batter and continue mixing until it's all smooth. Divide the batter equally between the two tins.

Bake in the oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave them to cool for 15 minutes in the tins and then on a cake rack until they have completely cooled down. Should you only have one baking tin and be wishing to divide your cake into two, definitely wait until they are completely cooled down and use a serrated knife to make a clean cut.

For the buttercream, melt the chocolate in a waterbath and set it aside to cool a little. Whisk the butter, first on its own, and then with the icing sugar, until light and fluffy. Also mix in the vanilla sugar. Then add the chocolate and continue mixing until all has been incorporated and you are left with a smooth buttercream. Now on to assembling the cake: spread around 1/3 or a bit more of the buttercream on the first layer, place the second layer on top and spread the rest of the buttercream generously on top and along the sides. Decorate with anything you like (I used Maltesers) or simply leave it at that - it will taste great either way :) Enjoy! :)