Chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream

Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease and flour two 23cm cake tins.

Use the first set of ingredients to make the cake. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, bicarb, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 3 minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the boiling water by hand. Pour evenly into the two prepared tins.

Bake the cakes for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing cakes from tins to cool completely.

To make the icing, use the second set of ingredients. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Stir in the cocoa and icing sugar alternately with the milk and vanilla. Beat to a spreading consistency.

Split the layers of cooled cake horizontally, cover the top of each layer with icing, then stack them onto a serving plate. Ice the outside of the cake.