Chocolate Cake – Tabithas 4th Birthday

So it turns out my good blogging intentions have not been with me the past two months but I have been truly enjoying the summer and a lot of baking has still been going on which is the part that brings me true joy, both baking and eating that is. This cake was one that was truly enjoyed so here is how I made Tabithas 4th birthday cake:

Ingredients

For the cake

• 200g Butter
• 200g Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 100ml Vanilla Yoghurt
• 165g Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 30g Cocoa Powder
• 50g Chocolate Chips

For the frosting

• 150g Butter
• 225g Icing Sugar

For the decoration

• 150g Butter
• 200g Icing Sugar
• 25g Cocoa
• Smarties
• Cadbury’s Chocolate Fingers

 

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190C Fan
2. Line an 8″ cake tin with baking paper and set aside
3. Then begin by creaming the sugar and  butter together
4. Once smooth add the eggs and yoghurt and whisk until combined
5. Then gradually add the flour, baking powder and cocoa whilst folding in with a spoon
6. Once you have a batter add the chocolate chips and stir in
7. Transfer mix to the cake tin and bake for 25 minutes
8. When the cake is baked, allow to cool
9. Whilst cooling prepare the two frostings by mixing all of the ingredients together until smooth and setting aside
10. Then, once the cake is cool cut in half and place a layer of vanilla frosting between the two sandwiches
11. Then use the chocolate frosting to cover the top and the sides of the cake as this will act as your glue for the decoration
12. I placed the chocolate fingers around the sides first before topping with the smarties
13. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to let it all set
14. It is then ready to be enjoyed

I really wanted to share this recipe with you because I was really proud of how it came out and most importantly Tabitha was really happy with it too!

Chantelle x

Malteaser Topped Chocolate Birthday Cake Recipe

So this weekend was my husbands birthday and I usually try to make something a little extravagant and a lot out of my comfort zone, this year I was inspired by the Malteaser Christmas Pudding cake I have seen making the rounds as my husband loves Malteasers but of course I had to take the ‘Christmas’ out of it. So I had a practise run with my Malteaser cupcakes and decided that I could do this (can I?) so here is my attempt at a Malteaser Topped Chocolate Birthday Cake:

Ingredients

For the Cake;

• 5 oz of Castor Sugar
• 6 ½ oz of Plain Flour
• 1 ½ level tsp of Baking Powder
• 1 level tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 2 tbsp of Cocoa
• 2 Lightly Beaten Eggs
• ¼ pt of Milk
• ¼ pt of Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp of Hot Water

For the Filling

• 3 oz of Butter
• 4 oz of Icing Sugar

For the Topping;

• 6 oz of Butter
• 6 oz of Icing Sugar
• 2 oz of Cocoa
• 500g of Malteasers (2.5 bags)

Malteaser Topped Chocolate Birthday Cake

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150c (Fan) and grease a 8” cake tin
2. Sieve all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together thoroughly
3. Mix the oil, milk and eggs into a jug
4. Gradually add the oil, milk and eggs to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth
5. Once the mixture is smooth add the hot water and mix
6. Poor the mixture into the tin
7. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes
8. Once the cake has cooked allow to cool thoroughly before starting on the filling
9. To make the filling sieve the icing sugar into a bowl
10. Then add the butter and mix until you have a smooth mixture
11. Cut the cake half way through (and as evenly as possible)
12. Spread the frosting onto the bottom piece before gently placing the top back on
13. Then you can make the topping
14. To make the topping sieve the icing sugar and cocoa together
15. Add the butter and cream until smooth
16. Then use the frosting to cover the whole cake, top and sides, this does not need to be smooth or even but a thick layer is needed
17. Once this is complete you can start adding the malteasers, I did this by starting in the middle at the top of the cake and working my way out in sort of circles as you can see in the picture
18. This is time consuming but once you are done, you can show the person whose birthday it is and eat!

Note: This recipe is in different measurements than I normally use as it has been passed down to us from a family member, but rest assured it makes the best chocolate cake!

This Malteaser Topped Chocolate Birthday Cake took ages to make, but honestly, it looks so good when it is completed that it makes it totally worth it, usually I have a high chance of failure with big cakes (hence why I stick with cupcakes) but this makes me really proud. As ever the cake is super moist so this contrasts deliciously with the crunch of the Malteasers!

Now what am I going to do next year!

Marble Cupcake Recipe

In December David turned the big 3-0 so I wanted to make something a little bit special for his birthday and at his request I made Marble Cupcakes for his party and this is how I did it:

Ingredients 

• 350g of Butter
• 200g of Sugar
• 175g of Flour
• 50g of Cocoa
• 1 tbsp of Vanilla Essence
• 1 tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 2 tsp of Baking Powder
• 4 Eggs
• 2 tbsp of Vanilla Essence
• 125g of Icing Sugar

Marble Cupcake Mixture

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (Fan Oven) and put your cupcake cases (this recipe makes 24 cupcakes) into your baking tray
2. In one bowl sift 100g of the sugar and 100g of butter and cream until smooth
3. Then sift in 100g of the flour, ½ tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp of baking powder and mix until crumbly
4. Then add 2 eggs and 1 tbsp of vanilla and whisk until smooth
5. Set aside
6. In a second bowl sift 100g of the sugar and 100g of butter and cream until smooth
7. Then sift in 100g of the flour 25g of cocoa, ½ tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp of baking powder and mix until crumbly
8. Then add 2 eggs and whisk until smooth
9. Now add one dollop (around one tablespoon) of the vanilla mixture to each cupcake case
10. Then add around the same amount of the chocolate mixture to each cupcake case
11. Repeat this process until all of the mixture is used and each case (of 24) has roughly the same amount of cake batter in it
12. Then you take a toothpick and place into the centre of the case swirling gently out to the edge (do not swirl it too much or you will just mix the batters together)
13. Repeat this process for each cupcake
14. Once complete place into your preheated oven for between 10-12 minutes. You can check if the cupcakes are good by gently touching the top of one, if it springs back then you are good to go!
15. Get the cupcakes out and allow to cool
16. Once cool you can prepare the frosting, I made half vanilla and half chocolate for them
17. Place 75g of butter and 75g of icing sugar into a bowl with 1 tbsp of vanilla essence and cream together until smooth
18. Use this to decorate 12 of your cupcakes
19. Then place 75g of butter, 50g of icing sugar and 25g of cocoa into a bowl and cream together until smooth
20. Use this to decorate the remaining cupcakes
21. Alternatively, you could gently swirl the two frostings together gently and also decorate them in this style (regretting only just thinking of this)
22. Then enjoy!

Marble Cupcakes Ready for the Oven

These Marble Cupcakes have a really great effect when served and they look truly spectacular!

Marble Cupcakes

But the beauty of Marble Cupcakes is, that they aren’t hard to make and you just cannot go wrong as the pattern is abstract so who cal tell if you did go wrong? They are also taste yummy!

I think I will be trying this recipe with different flavour combinations and possibly just different colour combinations in the future… so watch this space!

Vanilla Sponge with Chocolate Orange Frosting

Last week it was one of my friends first birthday in Berlin, when you move to a different country this is always a slightly strange occasion and you usually miss out on the traditions from back home. So to celebrate I decided to invite her over for dinner and surprise her by making a birthday cake (with secretly trick candles)!  It didn’t take much to decide, I knew I had to make a cake with this frosting again so this week my recipe was Vanilla Sponge with Chocolate Orange Frosting;

Ingredients

• 200g of Caster Sugar
• 275g of Butter
• 4 Large Eggs
• 200g of Flour
• 1 tsp of Baking Powder
• 1 tsp of Bicarbonate Soda
• 1tbsp of Vanilla Extract
• 75g of Icing Sugar
• 25g of Cocoa Powder
• Rind of Half an Orange
• 3tsbp of Orange Juice

 

Vanilla Sponge with Chocolate Orange Frosting

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C
2. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and sugar in a bowl
3. Mix in 200g of butter until crumbly
4. Add the eggs and blend until mixture is smooth
5. Add the tbsp of vanilla extract and stir in
6. Pour the mixture evenly into 2 shallow cake tins and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes
7. Once baked take them out of the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes
8. Then remove from the cake tins and place on a wire cooling rack
9. Allow to cool thoroughly before beginning the frosting
10. Once cool, place 75g of butter, icing sugar, 25g of cocoa, 3tbsp of orange juice and the zest of half an orange in a bowl and mix together thoroughly until smooth
11. Before frosting the cake I usually trim the top of the cakes to create a flatter surface for the look of the final cake
12. Then using a palette knife spread 1/4 of the frosting on to the top of one of the cakes, once covered place the other cake upside down on top and push down lightly, so you have the flat base as a top
13. Then use the rest of the frosting to smoothly cover the cake filling in any gaps between the 2 sponges
14. Allow to set then serve

 

Cut into Vanilla Sponge with Chocolate Orange Frosting

This cake was really delicious and I think it was appreciated by all of those who ate it! The Vanilla Sponge was a great base for the stronger and so delicious flavours of the Chocolate Orange Frosting, that I must say is becoming my favourite!

What are your favourite frosting flavours?