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Birthdays are big news when you're in charge of the catering. Whether you've got a demanding child insisting on a Harry Potter-themed party or want to impress your partner with something you've baked yourself, the cake is the centerpiece of the celebrations.

This no-fail and completely delicious chocolate cake is sure to go down well. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Use some baking paper to line the bottom of two seven inch cake tins and grease with butter. Leave the butter out of the fridge as you'll need it to be soft when you start making the cake.

Mix together 170g sieved self-raising flour, 175g soft butter, 160g caster sugar, a teaspoon of baking powder, a teaspoon of vanilla essence and 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Add three eggs and mix well with a hand-held mixer. If the mixture sticks to a spoon when you lift it up add a few tablespoons of milk to make it runnier.

Pour the mixture into the two tins and ensure the surfaces of both are flat by flattening the top with a knife. Cook for between 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tins onto a plate or rack. Once the cake is completely cool, spread with an icing of your choice - try mixing 25g butter with 100g cream cheese and 50g icing sugar for a quick solution.

Another option is to sandwich the two cakes together with whipped cream and garnish with strawberries and raspberries.

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