The best Easter 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 a little.

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.