Seven-layer chocolate cake

Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease 2 or 3 spring form cake tins of 23cm diameter each.

For the cake, beat the butter with the sugar until foamy. Stir in the milk, salt, egg yolks, cornflour and vanilla. Mix the flour and the baking powder and gradually add it to the cake mixture until well combined.

Beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until they stand in stiff peaks. Fold them into the mixture.

Divide the mixture into 7 equal portions. Evenly spread the first batch of mixture on the bottom of a cake tin. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden. Bake the remaining 6 layers the same way. Clean and grease the tins between baking each layer. Cool each layer on a cake rack for several minutes, then place it on a cake plate and put a piece of kitchen paper between each layer as well as on top. Put a heavy dinner plate on top to keep all the layers nice and flat.

For the filling, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a metal bowl placed over a pot with boiling water. Remove from the heat shortly before it is completely melted. Beat the butter with the icing sugar in a separate bowl until foamy and gradually add the chocolate until well blended.

Spread an equal amount of filling on each layer and place the layers neatly on top of each other. Leave the top layer free.

Make the ganache according to the recipe. Brush any crumbs off the cake and spread the ganache thinly and evenly on the entire cake. Let dry on a cake rack for several hours. The cake should stand in a cool place for at least 24 hours before serving.