Neil Perry's chocolate and almond cake

This chocolate cake is as simple as it comes, but so delicious. You can use milk chocolate in the recipe, but I prefer the slight bitterness of dark chocolate.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 20cm cake tin and line the tin with baking paper.

2. Place the butter in a bowl and beat by hand or with an electric mixer until smooth. Blend in the sugar and beat until creamy and the sugar has dissolved. Add the eggs, one at a time – don't overmix. Slowly mix in the oil. Gently fold in the sifted flour and cocoa powder. Pour the resulting batter into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes. To ensure the cake is cooked, insert a knife into the centre. It should come out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

3. For the ganache, coarsely chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan until it simmers, pour it over the chocolate and stir with a spoon until smooth.

4. Use a serrated knife to cut the cake into two even layers. Place one layer on a rack and spread it with a thin layer of ganache. Top with the remaining layer and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Glaze the surface of the cake with the remaining ganache, sprinkle with almond slivers and refrigerate for a further 20 minutes.

Try serving this delicious cake with our roast pork and braised red cabbage for the main course.