Serves 8-10

Ingredients

for the cake:
200g unsalted butter, softened + 1 t extra
200g (1 cup, firmly packed) dark brown sugar
90ml (just under 1/4 cup) honey
1 t vanilla extract
3 eggs
200g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour, sifted (or all-purpose gluten-free flour)
55g (3/4 cup) cocoa, sifted + 1 t extra
1/2 t baking powder
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
100ml hot water

for the icing:
250g unsalted butter, softened
500g (3 1/2 cups) soft icing sugar mixture, sifted
55g (3/4 cup) cocoa, sifted
100ml (just over 1/3 cup) milk
1 t vanilla extract


Method
Preheat oven to 160°C and prepare a 20cm cake tin. To do this, cut a circle of non-stick baking paper to fit the base of the tin, then thoroughly coat the inside walls with a teaspoon of softened butter, before dusting with a teaspoon of cocoa, making sure it is evenly coated and tapping out any excess (do this over the sink).

In a large mixing bowl using a handheld beater or the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar, honey and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Combine sifted cocoa, flour and baking powder. Add to the butter and sugar mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk and mixing on the lowest speed to just combine. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl. Still on a low speed, mix in the hot water. Do not overmix. With a large spoon or spatula, give the batter a final few stirs to ensure there are no dry pockets of flour and the batter is of an even texture. It should have a mousse-like consistency. 

Spoon into the prepared tin, smoothing the top as much as possible, and bake for 60min or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out (mostly) clean. A couple of moist crumbs are fine. Leave to cool in the tin for 10min before turning onto a wire cake rack to cool completely. Don't be concerned if a few cracks appear, they will close up slightly as the cake cools and sinks, and they will be covered with icing later anyway. 

While the cake is in the oven, make the icing. Again using a handheld or stand mixer, beat butter until light and creamy. Gradually add icing sugar and mix on a low speed to combine. Add cocoa powder, milk and vanilla and beat again, gradually increasing the speed and mixing until the icing is silky and voluminous. Add a dash more milk if the icing is too stiff. 

When the cake is completely cold, place on a cake stand or turntable if you have one and split into two halves. To do this, use a long-bladed serrated knife and position it horizontally at the half-way point on the side of the cake. While applying gentle pressure but keeping the knife still, slowly turn the cake. Keep gently pushing into the cake as you turn until you have cut all the way through. Remove the top half of the cake to a clean board or plate. 

Dollop half the buttercream onto the bottom cake layer and gently spread out with an offset spatula or other wide, flat knife to within a centimetre or so of the edge. Carefully position the top layer over the bottom, pressing down gently, and dollop on the remaining portion of buttercream. Spread icing to the edges, making large swirls as you go. Serve.

This cake will serve for any celebratory occasion, (though I'm posting it now in time for Father's Day), and can easily be fancied up with berries, flowers, or even doubled, cooked in two tins and stacked to make an impressive towering cake (though I haven't done this, so proceed at your own risk!). You could also substitute white or light brown sugar for the dark if that's what you have, but the dark brown sugar does add a seductive, molasses-mood, and the honey adds a subtle floral complexity (please use a good, raw honey if you can). What I like about this recipe is that while it's indulgent, it's very accessible. By only using cocoa powder it is easy to make with store-cupboard basics, and less expensive too. Nothing is lost by this approach, however, as this cake is intensely chocolatey and fudgey, but not heavy. I did test this with a gluten-free flour and it worked just the same, so go ahead and substitute the wheat flour for a gluten-free alternative if required. 

I hope you enjoy it, whatever the occasion, or even if there is not occasion at all. Sometimes you just need chocolate cake. I know I do. 

Ingredients
Approx. 150g, or 3/4 cup dry weight is sufficient for two adults, depending on appetite. On that calculation, this quantity will yield around 9 serves. 

200g rolled oats
100g steel-cut oats
100g pearl barley
100g whole buckwheat
100g cracked (bulghur) wheat
100g amaranth (substitute quinoa)
Apple cider vinegar (optional, substitute lemon juice)
Sea salt flakes (optional)

Method
Combine grains and store in an airtight jar. The night before you want to make porridge, measure out the required amount, and put in a glass jar or jug with half a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per person and enough water to cover by about 2cm. Cover with a lid or cloth and leave on the kitchen bench overnight.

The next morning, place porridge, the soaking liquid and more fresh water (enough to cover) into a saucepan. Add a pinch of sea salt flakes if desired. Stir over moderate heat, adding more water if necessary, for 15-20min or until you have a porridge consistency to your liking. Serve with whatever you like.  

If so inclined, I encourage you to add some live yoghurt and fresh or stewed fruit for sweetness to your bowl, which makes for a pretty awesome, power-packed, and gut-friendly breakfast. I am not so virtuous as to eat this every day, and I only eat it because I love the flavour and texture, as well as the slight smug feeling of having made something from scratch, as basic as it may be. I use the rolled oats to ensure the final product is lovely and creamy, so although I have six grains listed, it's only five different grains in total. I consider porridge a winter breakfast exclusively, and I think this is the perfect foil to all the delicious poached or baked fruits you can have at this time of year - quinces, pears and apples especially - but any fresh or cooked fruit would be delicious, I like this combination of soft, sweet-sour quince with the crisp apple matchsticks. Not something I would bother with every day, but when you feel like being a little bit fancy…But really, the classic brown sugar and cream, or milk and honey are also sublime. Add cinnamon for good measure. 

I can't recall where I read the tip on adding vinegar to the soaking water (and it was such an excellent website!), but from my cursory reading since, I know that the acid helps to break down the phytic acid in the grains. It is this phytic acid which inhibits the bioavailability of key nutrients. I am certainly not trained in nutrition, and am not presuming any expertise, but it is widely accepted that soaking grains both improves the uptake of essential nutrients, and increases their digestibility. It also has the obvious benefit of making the cooking time shorter, and as long as you remember to soak them the night before, this porridge couldn't be simpler. I hope you try it, do let me know how you go if you do!