Ingredients

About 12 oz plain block chocolate
¾ lb strawberries (hulled)
¼ pint stock syrup (flavoured with vanilla, or rum, or sherry)
½ pint double cream (lightly whipped)

For sponge

1 egg
2 oz caster sugar
1½ oz plain flour
Pinch of salt

6-7 inch diameter sandwich tin (2 inches deep) and 8-9 inch diameter sandwich tin

 

Method

First grease, sugar and flour the smaller tin. Break up the chocolate, put it on a plate and set it over a pan of hot water to melt. Then remove, and work it well with a palette knife until thick enough to spread.

 

Line the large cake tin with foil, then spread the inside and bottom of the case fairly thickly with chocolate, using the back of a spoon. Make sure the sides are well coated, then leave it to set for several hours.

 

Meanwhile prepare and bake the sponge, using the small tin. Carefully peel off foil from chocolate case. The easiest way to do this is as follows: lift the case out of the tin and start to peel and bend the foil out­wards, away from the choco­late. Continue in this way until much of the sides and bottom are free, always keeping your hand on the outside of the foil to avoid touching the choco­late. Lastly, slide the case on to a wire rack and detach the last piece of foil.

 

Split the sponge cake in two, lay one round in the chocolate case and spoon over sufficient cold stock syrup (about half) to soak it well.

 

Slice the hulled strawberries, reserving a few for decoration. Moisten them with 1-2 table­spoons of stock syrup and put them on top of the sponge. Cover them with a layer of cream, then the other round of sponge and spoon over the rest of the syrup. Pile the remaining cream on top and decorate with reserved strawberries.

 

Stock syrup:- put 8 oz sugar and ¼ pint water in a pan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved. Then bring to boil and boil steadily for 10 minutes (220°F on a sugar thermometer). Allow to cool and store in a screw-top jar. This will give more than ½ pint syrup.