Cake bakers help me please!

[FellatioNelson]

I have been aasked by a friend to make a cake for her DD's birthday. She knows I love cooking but I am not the best or most experienced baker and I do not have time to do a practice run so it needs to work first time.

She wants a chocolate sponge cake with buttercream in the middle and icing on top. Does anyone have a foolproof chocolate sponge cake/fudge cake recipe that will not let me down? It needs to be quite a big cake and I'm really concerned that it will be too dry. I've got tons of cake baking books but I've nver made any often enough to know what works well and what doesn't.

TIA.

How big is big? Any Delia recipes (can get them online) usually work well as do the Nigella Lawson ones (again available on-line).

If you are worried about it being too dry, can I suggest a chocolate courgette cake? There is no way anyone would know there are half a kilo of courgettes in it, but imagine the kudos at the party

She wants to take it to school for her school friends so I'm thinking at least twelve portions, and possibly a rectangular tray bake type thing as it will be easier to cut? But I'm flexible.

Choc courgett cake would be great for that. It is moist and not crumbly. I just put choc icing on the top - it is so moist and scrumptious that it does not need an icing "filling".

Infact DD has requested one for her Chrstmas party at school

Nigella's chocolate birthday cake from 'How to Eat' has never let me down

I make a normal victoria sponge mix and add a 100g of melted chocolate and some cocoa powder. If the batter seems a bit stiff add a drop of milk.

So where will I get a chocolate courgette cake recipe? Google, or do you have one handy? If you tell me what book it is in might even have it.

I made this for DS's 8th birthday recently and it was great, very moist and enormous. I didn't use the icing suggested ( waaaay too much for children IMO ), just sandwiched in the middle and iced all over with a chcoclate buttercream icing. It fed 16 easily, big, big slices. Smaller slices you could get at least 24.

That looks nice ans straightforward, thank you.

I thought it was a MN recipe, but when I searched I couldn't find it. I think this is the one, but I don't put the hazelnuts in!

This recipe is great and very easy. It uses sunflower oil instead of butter and is lovely and moist...
www.oetker.co.uk/oetker_uk/recipes/sharing_cakes/wicked_chocolate_fudge_cake.html