ENGLISH MUM: never knowingly undercatered

225g good quality dark chocolate
6 oz butter
3 eggs
8 oz caster sugar
4oz plain flour

For the ganache:

Small tub double cream
Small bar dark or white chocolate

Melt your butter and chocolate in a bain-marie (bowl over saucepan of simmering water) or in the microwave if you’re brave enough, but I always burn it. As always with this type of method, take it off the heat as soon as it’s well on the way as you need it just warm - you should be able to put your finger in it - any hotter and you’ll have lumps of scrambled egg in your mixture. Not attractive. In a different bowl, then, stir the eggs and the sugar until well combined, then add in the cooled butter/chocolate mixture and the flour. If you want to go completely bonkers you can add in some chopped white chocolate now which makes it look very pretty. Combine well then divide between two 8′? diameter cake tins (use spring form tins, or butter and line them as they’re a sod to get out). Bake at 180 degrees for between 25 and 30 minutes until all trace of wobble in the middle is gone and they look all cracked on the top. They’ll still be nice and fudgy in the middle.

Leave them to cool on a wire rack while you make the ganache. Again, melt the chocolate (I used dark again, but you can make white chocolate ganache which looks very pretty in this), making sure it’s not too hot, then slowly whisk in a splosh of cream. If it looks too thick add a bit more and continue until it’s a nice spreading consistency. Don’t panic if you make it too runny as it’ll thicken up in the fridge.

Whisk the rest of the cream, then place your first layer of brownie cake onto your serving dish or cake stand. Spread first with a layer of ganache, then with a layer of the whipped cream and add your second cake layer. Spread more ganache on the top. Add candles, sing happy birthday, serve, then sit back and revel in all that calorie-induced glory.