Wednesday, 24 May 2006

Tony Blair's All-In-One Chocolate Sponge

Prime Minister Tony Blair likes chocolate just as much as we do

Ingredients

115g/4oz self-raising flour, sifted
1tsp baking powder
115g/4oz soft margarine, at room temperature
115g/4oz caster sugar
2 large eggs
1tbsp cocoa powder

To finish
Jam or lemon curd or fresh cream
Icing sugar

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas 3.
2 Lightly grease and line with greaseproof paper or silicone paper (also greased) 2 18cm/7in sponge tins no less than 4cm/1½in deep.
3 Sift the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl, holding the sieve high to give the flour a good airing. Add all the other ingredients to the bowl and whisk them – preferably with an electric hand whisk – till thoroughly combined. If the mixture doesn't drop off a wooden spoon easily when tapped on the side of the bowl, add 1 or 2tsp tap-warm water and whisk again.
4 Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins, level off and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for about 30 mins. When cooked, leave them in the tins for only about 30 secs, then loosen the edges by sliding a palette knife all round and turn them out on to a wire cooling rack. Peel off the base papers carefully and, when cool, sandwich them together with jam or lemon curd or jam and fresh cream and dust with icing sugar.

Recipe taken from Cooking For Life compiled by Louise Robinson. For more information about this book, call 020-7793 4500 or visit www.wateraid.org.