Rich chocolate loaf

Preheat the oven to 190 ºC. Grease and line three 200-225 mm springform cake tins or 2 loaf pans.
1. Beat butter until light and creamy. Beat sugar in gradually and continue beating until the sugar has dissolved. Beat in eggs, a spoonful at a time.
2. Dissolve cocoa in a little water and the chocolate into the rest of the water. Mix the two and allow to cool. Stir into butter mixture.
3. Sift flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together three times. Sift a third of the dry ingredients over butter mixture and fold in. Fold in a third of the cream and repeat twice. Add vanilla essence and fold in.
4. Spoon into two greased and lined loaf or three round cake tins and bake for 25 minutes or until the cake recedes from the sides of the pans.
5. Spread chocolate loaf with your favourite chocolate butter icing, or sandwich the layer cakes and cover with butter icing. Decorate as desired.