Dense chocolate cake

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and spray a loose-bottom 220mm cake tin with non-stick cooking spray.

Pour the water into a saucepan and sift in the cocoa powder. Dissolve the cocoa in the water, using a whisk. Add the oil and mix well.

Place on the stove and just bring to the boil. Remove for the heat. Alternatively, place the ingredients in a glass bowl and microwave on high for one minute or a little longer, until the mixture just boils.

Add the liquidized canned pears and stir well, using a whisk. Refrigerate.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking powder and then add the oat bran. Lift up a few times with a spoon to incorporate air.

In another bowl, beat the eggs with an electric beater for two minutes. Add the castor sugar mixture, alternating witha third of the dry ingredients every time. Fold in lightly after each addition until well mixed, using a whisk. See to it that the cocoa mixture does not sink to the bottom.

Pour the cake mixture into the cake tin and spread out well to the sides.

ICING

Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan on a very low heat or over pan of boiling water until just melted. Remove from the stove. Alternatively, break the chocolate into pieces into a glass bowl and microwave on medium for 20 seconds at a time until the chocolate is just melted. Add the honey and microwave for another 10 seconds. Omit the next step.

While the chocolate is melting slowly, heat the honey in the microwave in a seperate small glass bowl on 100% power for 10 seconds only. Add the melted chocolate to the honey mixture and mix well

Sift the cornflour into the honey and chocolate mixture and mix well, using a teaspoon.

Add the yoghurt in thirds on quarters, stirring until well blended every time. Do not add the last 2.5ml if the icing already looks too runny. Sift in the icing sugar and mix in.

Decorate the cake when it has cooled down and let some of the icing run over the sides. Cut into 20 small servings