Pre heat your oven to 160°C / 320°F / Gas mark 3.

Grease and flour a 900g / 2lb loaf tin Sizes are 20x12x8cm / 8x5x3in.

Melt the butter: just until it becomes runny (I use the microwave).

Add the eggs and vanilla extract to a bowl and whisk until light and airy, a hand-held electric mixer is ideal.

Add the melted butter and beat that in too.

Add the full can of condensed milk and coffee, carry on beating.

Finally sift in the flour, baking powder, salt (omit salt if you used salted butter) and cocoa powder.

Using a spatula gently fold it in until you have a smooth batter.

Carefully pour the batter into your prepared loaf tin/pan, making sure you scrape it all out of the bowl.

Give the tin a few taps on the bench to lift any of the larger air bubbles.

Now get it into your pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes.

Making the Ganache: Chop the chocolate into small pieces and get them into a heat safe bowl.

Get the cream into a small saucepan, and on a low heat bring it up to a low simmer.

Pour the hot cream into the bowl with the chocolate in, and let it melt for 3 minutes.

Using a spatula, fold the melted chocolate and cream together until you have a glossy ganache.

Refrigerate until it sets, approximately 1 hour.

Back to the cake in the oven. When the time is up, check it with a cocktail or kebab stick, if it comes out dry it’s done, if not bake for a further 5 minutes and try again.

Place the tin on a wire rack and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before removing it from the tin.

Now simply treat it like any other sponge cake. You can dust with icing/powdered sugar, or cover it with a flavoured frosting, or jam and coconut, or just in a bowl with lots of steaming hot vanilla custard.

This cake is also ideal for the base of a fresh cream trifles.