Pick and Choose Cake

It was my mums birthday this week so I wanted to make a birthday cake for her, however it isn't that simple in my family. My mums favourite cake is coffee cake but one of my brothers doesn't like coffee cake and the other one doesn't like buttercream so I have adapted this Mary Berry cappuccino cake into a quick and easy chocolate cake covered in vanilla cream with a coffee syrup (optional).
This cake needs deep sandwich tins.

50g coca powder
6 tablespoons boiling water
3 large eggs
50ml milk
175g self-raising flour
1 rounded tsp baking powder
100g softened butter
275g caster sugar

300ml cream
a few drops of vanilla essence

3tbsp instant coffee
3tbsp caster sugar
6tbsp water

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C fan, grease 2 20cm sandwich tins and line the bases of them.

Measure the cocoa powder into a bowl and add the boiling water to create a paste. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until just combined and of a thick, batter like consistency.


Divide the mixture between the two tins and level the surface. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the sides of the cake are coming away from the tin.

Meanwhile whip the cream and add the vanilla until the cream holds its shape.

To make the coffee syrup boil the water and sugar in a pan, dissolve the coffee into the liquid.

Remove the cake from the oven and place it in a wire rack to cool.

When the cake is cooled cover and fill the cake with the vanilla cream then decorate how you please (mine has been left plain).

Serve with the coffee syrup if cappuccino cake is preferred.