Animal Aid

Sponge

• 300g white self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 100ml sunflower oil (or other light vegetable oil)
• 2 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
• 175g brown sugar
• 180ml water

Chocolate orange icing

• 150g icing sugar
• 1 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 large or 2 small oranges - finely scraped zest from outer skin and juice, mix together.

Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / gas 4
Two cake tins - approx 18cm (7inch). Oil very lightly and then add a tsp of flour and shake the tin to cover all the area, bang out any excess flour so the inside of the tin is only covered with a very light coating.

Method

Sponge Cake:

Mix the water, sugar and oil in a pan and heat gently, stirring until sugar dissolves. Leave to cool and then add dry ingredients, folding mixture together carefully - rather than beating it - until well mixed. Pour into tins and bake for approx 30 mins. Leave to cool for only 2 or 3 mins, gently go around the edge with a blunt knife and turn out onto a wire rack. Leave to cool.

Icing:

In a bowl mix the icing sugar and cocoa with just enough of the orange juice to make a paste to coat cake - you’ll need far less liquid than you think, so add only a little at a time and mix thoroughly. Cut cooled cakes in half and spread icing sugar in the middle. Sandwich cake together. Do this with both cakes. Pour on carefully any left-over juice to soak into cake. Coat top with more icing. (Freezes well)