Grease a 6 inch square cake pan. Preheat the oven to 170 C for at least 15 mins.

Place a sieve over a mixing bowl and add flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Sieve it at least thrice. Add sugar and mix it well.

Make a well in the center and pour water or milk, oil or melted butter, vanilla and vinegar.Mix the wet ingredients gently and then slowly incorporate the flour with the liquid ingredients. Do not over mix but ensure there are no lumps in the batter.

Pour this to the grease tray and bake for 23 to 25 mins. When done a tester inserted comes out clean. Cool down the cake in the pan itself over a wire rack until it cools down a bit but still warm.

Mix together cocoa powder, sugar and water in a pot. Mix well to break the lumps and boil the syrup until it thickens. It took me about 7 to 9 minutes. The mixture must turn thick & coat the back of a spoon. If using palm jaggery or jaggery, just filter the chocolate syrup and use. Cool this a bit.

Chill the bowls and the beaters for few hours. Pour the whipping cream to the chilled bowl. Begin to whip on a low speed initially and then increase the speed to medium. When the mixture turns bubbly add the sugar and beat until you see stiff peaks. Take care not to over whip as it can turn to butter. Keep this chilled until needed.

When the temperature of the cake comes down, poke the cake several times with a chop stick about ¾ inch apart. Avoid poking the cake towards the edges. Make several holes all over the cake. Ensure the holes are deep reaching the base.

The temperature of the chocolate syrup should have come down slightly but still warm. Mix well and pour the syrup all over the cake. The syrup must go through the holes. Set this aside to cool the cake completely. You can also chill it in the fridge.

Spread the whipped cream generously all over the cake. Decorate with some sprinkles or chocolate shavings. Chill the chocolate poke cake until served. Slice the cake when needed and serve.