There have been lots of times in our restaurant when we’ve been asked to make a quick birthday or celebration cake at the last minute. We use a really good, reliable cake base that is so versatile and will adapt to all sorts of different occasions.

With all the birthdays and confirmations and communions that are being celebrated at home these days, this is a very useful recipe to have. It uses store cupboard ingredients.

Kevin Stirzaker is a chef and owner of The Dining Room in Castlebar

Chocolate cake

Makes one

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Ingredients
150g self raising flour
50g cocoa
100g light brown sugar
100g granulated sugar
200g margarine or butter
4 large eggs (yolks and whites separated)
1tsp vanilla extract

Milk chocolate buttercream icing:
100g milk chocolate
200g softened butter
400g icing sugar
4tbsp cocoa powder
2tbsp milk

Method
1 Grease the base and sides, and line the bottom of a 20cm cake tin with baking parchment.

2 Mix together cocoa and flour.

3 Beat the margarine or butter and both sugars together in a mixing bowl, preferably with an electric whisk.

4 Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix them in.

5 Sieve in the flour and cocoa and mix them in completely.

6 In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peak stage then fold the egg whites into the cake mix gently and thoroughly, while trying not to knock out too much air.

7 Pour the batter into the tin and bake at 170 degrees Celsius (fan) for around 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

8 Allow the cake to cool slightly in the tin, then turn out onto a rack to completely cool. When it is cool slice it across the centre to make two discs.

9 To make the icing, melt the chocolate in the microwave on a very low setting until soft.

10 Mix together the butter, icing sugar and cocoa with an electric whisk, then add the melted chocolate and mix it in. Only add the milk if necessary to get the right consistency.

11 Use the icing to sandwich the two cakes together and spread on top. You could also dust the top with cocoa powder or icing sugar instead.

Kitchen Cabinet is a series of recipes from chefs who are members of Euro-Toques Ireland who have come together during the coronavirus outbreak to share some of the easy, tasty things that they like to cook and eat at home #ChefsAtHome