Here is one of my favourite chocolate cake recipes from the River Café Cook Book Easy by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray (Ebury Press, 2008). It is cooked in a water bath, producing a silken texture that is heaven-sent! It will serve at least 10 people and is very rich so small portions are recommended. I serve the cake on one of my large lilac Zinnia plates and pepper it with edible flowers such as pansies.

Easy small nemesis

340g excellent quality chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)

225g Unsalted butter

5 large eggs

210 grams Caster sugar

Preheat oven to 120 degrees celcius.

Using extra butter, grease a 25cm cake tin, and line with baking paper.

Break the chocolate into pieces an melt with the butter in a bowl over simmering water. Beat the eggs and 70 grams of the sugar in an electric mixer until the volume quadruples.

Heat the remaining sugar with 100ml water until dissolved into a light syrup. Pour the hot syrup into the melted chocolate and cool slightly.

Add the chocolate to the eggs, and beat slowly until the mixture is combined. Pour into the tin.

Put a folded tea towel in the bottom of a roasting dish or a high-sided baking tray. Put in the cake and add enough hot water to come three-quarters of the way up the side of the tin.

Bake in the oven for approximately 70-90 minutes until set (it should have a slight wobble to it). Leave the cake to cool in the water. To get the cake out of the tin, briefly dip the tin in a basin of very hot/boiling water for a few seconds and then invert onto a beautiful plate! Decorate with edible flowers such as pansies. Cut the cake using a sharp knife dipped in hot water for a clean cut.