Recipe from Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can published by Ebury Press, £14.99. Photo by Rosie Barnett.
Ingredients:
300g unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
90g good quality plain chocolate (melted)
6 large eggs
240g Self Raising Flour
60g good quality cocoa powder
2 teaspoon baking powder
3 x 7 inch sandwich cake tins lined
Preheat oven to 180°c / 350°f / Gas mark 4
Method
- Cream / whisk the (softened) butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add the melted chocolate and mix again
- Add the eggs a little at a time beating / whisking well after each addition and checking they are fully incorporated before adding more to the mixture
- Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a large bowl
- With a metal spoon or large palette knife, fold the dry ingredients into the cake mixture adding a little at a time
- Divide the mixture equally between the three prepared tins (if you only have two tins then bake two cakes and remove from their tins to cool on a baking rack. Run one tin under cold water and re-line with fresh baking parchment before using to bake the third cake)
- Bake the cakes in the middle of a preheated oven for approx 20 – 25 minutes or until springy to touch
- Leave the cakes to settle in their tins for about ten minutes before carefully removing them from their tins and putting them to cool on a wire rack
- If the cakes are not completely flat you may wish to level the tops a little so the three tiers stack neatly – wait until they have completely cooled before doing this
Chocolate buttercream:
300g unsalted butter
600g icing sugar (sifted)
350g 70% cocoa chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50g cocoa
6 tablespoons semi skimmed milk
- Soften the butter then put it in a mixing bowl with the icing sugar, the vanilla extract and the milk
- Beat very firmly – ideally with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer – or with a hand balloon whisk
- Beat for 2 – 3 mins (longer if doing by hand) until the mixture is smooth, creamy and quite fluffy
- Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or very carefully in the microwave (in 20 second bursts – stirring before heating again)
- Add the chocolate and beat again – it will thicken the more you beat it!
- Once the cakes are completely cold, sandwich together with a generous layer of chocolate buttercream and cover the top with buttercream
- Decorate with summery flower decorations
This recipe and others can also be found on www.dreamscometrue.uk.com.
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