The best chocolate cake

Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4. Grease 3 x 18cm round tins with a little oil, and line with baking parchment. Put the flour, both sugars, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs and coffee in a measuring jug until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, whisking until a smooth batter forms. It will be runny, so the best way to divide it between the tins is to transfer the batter to a large jug, use measuring cups to equally divide it, or put each tin on the scales and measure by weight.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Place the dark chocolate, butter and golden syrup into a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of just simmering water. Stir until smooth and melted, then remove from the heat and pour in the cream. Mix well, then spoon a couple of tablespoons of it into a bowl and set aside for the ganache drips. Put the remaining ganache into the fridge for at least 15 minutes to harden.

Once the ganache sets slightly, use an electric hand mixer to beat it for 2-3 minutes, until lighter in colour with a mousse-like texture.

To assemble, place 1 sponge onto a plate or cake stand. Top with ¼ of the whipped ganache, smooth with a spatula and repeat with the following sponges, topping each with the same amount of ganache.

Gently warm the reserved ganache for the drips, either in the microwave or over a pan of warm water, until it flows easily. Spoon into a disposable piping bag, snip off the end, then pipe drips from the top edge of the cake. Put the remaining whipped ganache into a piping bag fitted with a closed star nozzle and pipe small swirls around the top of the cake. Decorate each swirl with a mini chocolate egg, then scatter with the chopped eggs and chocolate vermicelli.