This quick-and-easy recipe has been in my personal hand-written cookbook for ages. I don’t remember who I got it from and when. I know, however, that it has never failed to satisfy my family’s cravings for ‘something nice and sweet’.

The good thing about the recipe is that it uses simple ingredients that are easy to find anywhere in the world. What’s more, they are very likely to be on hand at any time, so if you have guests coming at a very short notice, here is a perfect dessert to surprise them with, which can be made within an hour. And it makes enough portions for a small party!

Quick-and-easy Chocolate Cake

• 250 g unsalted butter or margarine
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder

• 2 cups pastry flour
  
• 3 eggs
• 1 sachet baking powder (13 g)
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar (20 g)
• a little rum essence
  
• dried shredded coconut or ground nuts to sprinkle on top

Method:

1. Heat the butter/margarine, sugar, water and cocoa powder in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Stir until well combined. Take away from the heat and put aside ½ cup of the chocolate mixture. Save it for drenching the cake later.
2. Grease a baking tray and dust it with flour. When the chocolate mixture has cooled down, gradually add to it the flour, the eggs, the baking powder and vanilla sugar. Remember to stir well after adding each ingredient. You need to get a smooth shiny dough. Stir in a few drops of the rum essence.
3. Transfer the dough into the baking tray and spread around evenly. Put in the oven and bake at 180ºC for about 25 minutes, or until the dough starts coming away from the sides of the baking tray. The cake is done and cooked through when a skewer inserted in it will come out clean.
4. Take the cake out of the oven and put on a cooling mat. Spoon the ½ cup of the saved chocolate mixture all over the cake while it is still warm. Sprinkle with the dried shredded coconut or ground nuts.
   

   
5. Cut into squares and serve for dessert or to go with a cup of tea or coffee.