Chocolate whisky cake

1.Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line the bases of two 20cm baking pans with baking paper and spray the sides with oil.

2.Pour the mixture evenly into the pans, smoothing the tops. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

3.Meanwhile, make the whisky syrup. Place the sugar and water in a small pan and bring it slowly to the boil, then continue to boil it for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and add the whisky.

4.As soon as the cakes are baked and removed from the oven, use a skewer to poke lots of holes in the top of each. Spoon over the syrup. It may seem like a lot of liquid, but spoon it over slowly and the cakes will absorb it. Set the cakes aside to cool in their pans.

5.To make the ganache, finely chop the chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a pan until it is just beginning to bubble around the edges. Pour the cream over the chocolate and, using a whisk, stir gently until they have thoroughly combined. Set aside the chocolate cream until it reaches a spreadable consistency, stirring it every now and then.

6.To assemble the cake, place one chocolate cake (trim the top if necessary) on a serving tray or cakestand. Cover it with a layer of the ganache. Top it with the second cake, face down so the top is as flat as possible. Cover the whole cake with a layer of ganache. To rim the top of the cake with ganache spirals, place the remaining ganache in a piping bag, using a large star tip, and hold the piping bag at a 90-degree angle (straight up and down) when piping. Decorate the spirals with Malteser balls and grated chocolate.