Easter chocolate cake

Beat the sugar and eggs until pale and creamy. Beat in the oil. Then mix in the cocoa powder, chocolate, nuts and banana, combining well. Fold in the flour. Grease and line with baking paper a 23cm cake tin with removable base. Spoon in the cake mixture. Bake at 160C for about 1 hour. Cool the cake. For the ganache, place the cream and chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir well until combined and smooth. Cool. Place the cooled cake on a big plate and spread with cooled ganache over all the cake. Place in the fridge to set. Decorate with little Easter eggs, chocolates, flowers and rose petals.

Serves 10-12

2 cups caster sugar

6 eggs

250ml sunflower oil

1 tbsp cocoa powder

200g dark chocolate, finely chopped

100g macadamia nuts, chopped (optional)

2 big bananas, mashed

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted

Ganache

1/3 cup pouring cream

250g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped

Evans & Tate Metricup Road shiraz 2012 ($24)

Elegantly structured shiraz from Margaret River. Loaded with savoury spicy shiraz fruit worked perfectly with some nice oak. There’s a sliver of chocolate and some rich dark plum. The palate is dense and concentrated but those ripe sinewy tannins give it a precise focus through to the long finish. Score: 92/100