Back in Italy, the best colazione (breakfast food) to have at home would be a homemade cake shared with the family. True to my origins, I often crave something sweet for breakfast and I get itchy for the next baking mission. This time, I quickly put together some very basic ingredients I had at home and the perfect homemade cake came out with only 5 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes in the oven. This simple chocolate cake will stay perfectly fluffy and spongy for a few days (even if you store it in the fridge). Savour it for breakfast with a cappuccino or with a glass of milk as a snack. Or bring it to that last minute dinner invite!

Ingredients:
200g flour
60g bitter cocoa powder
150g demerara sugar
2 eggs beaten with a fork
100ml groundnut oil (or sunflower oil)
200-230ml whole milk
16g baking powder
¼ of a teaspoon of vanilla powder (or grated orange zest or any aroma you prefer)
Some icing sugar for the surface

Step 1 – First add the beaten eggs, groundnut oil and milk in a large bowl. Add the vanilla powder and sugar and mix with a hand whisk.

Step 2 – Add the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder to the bowl and keep mixing with the hand whisk (there’s no need to use the electric mixer, but I leave that up to you).

Step 3 – Pour the mix into a 24cm cake mould, making sure you spread the surface with butter or that you’ve lined the mould with baking paper.

Step 4 – Place it in the hot oven at 180º (160º if you have a fan oven) for 30 minutes. Once your cake is cool, sift some icing sugar on the top or add your favourite toppings (whipped cream and fruit for example). The result will be a very fluffy, simple chocolate cake, easy to eat at any time of the day. Buon appetito!