Nigella Lawson's devilishly good chocolate cake: The ultimate Valentine's Day indulgence

Nigella Lawson is a maestro in the art of stimulating the senses with her scrumptious dishes. On Valentine's Day, it's a wonderful idea to try her recipe for an incredibly choc-full cake, bound to captivate the heart of your significant other. With its moist texture, intense flavor, and incredible sweetness, this cake provides the perfect finale for a Valentine's Day dinner.

Nigella Lawson is a kitchen icon, an author of best-selling cookbooks, and a celebrated star of TV cookery programmes. She's famous for her desirable and easy-to-prepare recipes. One of her most popular desserts is the "Devil's cake", noted for its deeply satisfying, chocolatey bold taste. This recipe has won over millions.

The secret to this cake is simplicity. The ingredients are readily accessible, and preparing them does not necessitate mastery over baking techniques. The rich, chocolatey taste of the cake is brought about by the superior quality cocoa and bitter chocolate used. Adding cream and butter gives it a creamy texture and a taste of divine indulgence.

Nigella Lawson's Devil's Cake is a perfect suggestion for Valentine's Day. It's a well-accepted fact that chocolate ranks as one of the leading tasty aphrodisiacs. As such, this sweet dessert thus stands as the ideal end to a romantic dinner.

Ingredients:

• 100g Muscovado sugar,
• 60g dark cocoa,
• 250ml of boiling water,
• 130g of soft butter,
• 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract,
• 160g of sugar,
• 220g of cake flour,
• 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder.

Frosting:

• 30g of sugar,
• 180g of butter,
• 125ml of water,
• 360g of bitter chocolate.

Method of preparation:

1. Mix the muscovado sugar, cocoa and boiling water in a high-sided container. Use a whisk to eliminate lumps and create a smooth paste.
2. In a separate bowl, blend the butter with sugar until it reaches a fluffy consistency.
3. Add a portion of flour, eggs, and the melted cocoa-sugar mixture to the whipped butter. Incorporate the vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
4. Divide the dough between two buttered cake pans measuring 20cm in diameter.
5. Bake the cakes at a temperature of 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Gently heat the muscovado sugar, butter, and water in a saucepan. Stir it until you get a uniform mixture.
7. Place broken chocolate into a bowl and pour the hot mixture from the saucepan over it. Stir until the chocolate melts.
8. Once it has cooled slightly, whip the resulting mixture with a mixer.
9. Set the frosting aside for an hour to thicken, but remember to stir it a few times during this process.
10. Once the cake has cooled, apply a layer of chocolate frosting using a spatula.
11. Place the second layer of the cake on top and spread the remaining frosting over and around it.

Optionally, you can also adorn the cake with fresh fruit. Strawberries and raspberries would work wonderfully here. Enjoy!