Bake of the Week: Lisa Faulkner’s devil’s food cake (serves 8-10)

Thanks to Bacofoil for this delightful recipe.

You’ll need

Baking paper

250g caster sugar

250g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

60g cocoa

3 eggs

150ml milk

150ml sunflower oil

1 shot of espresso made up to 100ml with boiling water

500g butter

1kg icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

75ml Amaretto

Method

Preheat oven to 170C. Line three 20cm sandwich tins with baking paper.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa and baking powder. In a jug, mix eggs, milk and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. Gradually stir the coffee into the mixture.

Divide the mixture between the prepared tins. Bake for 25 mins. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 mins and then cool the sponges on a wire rack.

For the icing, cut the butter into cubes and whip in a stand mixer for about 7 mins until pale and almost double in size. Add the icing sugar gradually to the butter, beating well after each edition. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. With the machine running, very slowly drizzle in the Amaretto.

Put a base layer of icing on the cake, making sure it’s covered. Firm up in the fridge for 20-30 mins. Take a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and fill with the rest of the icing. Pipe circular roses on to the base layer of icing until the whole cake is covered. Firm in the fridge for another 20-30 mins, then the cake is ready to serve.