It was my favourite aunt’s birthday and we were planning a surprise visit to her house. I wanted to bake a special cake for her all by myself (and a little help from my mom!). I thought chocolate cake would be ideal as everybody loves chocolate!

For the cake:

1. Pre-heat oven to 175°C Celsius.
2. Grease a non-stick baking pan and line it with baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl sift 2 cups flour, 2 cups of sugar and a pinch of salt.
4. In a large saucepan, heat 1 cup water, ½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup of cocoa powder. Mix until blended and bring it just to the boil over medium heat, stirring continuously.
5. Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the flour mixture and stir until smooth.
6. In another bowl, mix together ½ cup buttermilk, 2 eggs, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp white vinegar until smooth.
7. Add this to the flour and chocolate mixture and mix.
8. Pour this into the greased baking pan.
9. Bake at 175°C celsius for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Ask an adult to put the pan in the oven and to check the toothpick.
10. After removing the cake from the oven, cool it on a cooling rack.

For the icing:

1. Heat a saucepan on medium heat. Melt ½ cup unsalted butter, 6 Tbsp of whole milk and ¼ cup cocoa powder and bring to the boil. Remove from heat.
2. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Blend these ingredients with an electric hand mixer.
3. Pour over the cake and let it cool.