Chocolate Malteser Cake

I made this cake for my brothers birthday. I got the recipe from Lorraine Pascale's latest book. I love this recipe as it is really yummy but also because it is so easy to make. You put all the ingredients in a food processor or mixer at once and voila the cake is ready to bake. How easy is that... (I didn't have 20cm tins so I used 23cm tins instead. Note to self invest in 20cm tins.)

Make sure the butter is really soft otherwise you will en up with lumps of butter in your cake batter. 

Happy Baking ;) x x x  

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus 25 minutes to cool and 20 minutes to decorate.

Time baking in the oven: 25-30 minutes

SERVES 8-10

SPONGE

• 150g • 5oz really soft butter,
• plus a little extra for greasing
• 250g • 9oz caster sugar
• 150g • 5oz self-raising flour
• 125ml • 4½ fl oz sour cream
• 4 medium eggs (at room temperature)
• 50g • 2oz cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• ½ vanilla pod (or few drops of vanilla extract to taste)

BUTTERCREAM

• 100g • 3½ oz dark chocolate (minimum 70 per cent cocoa solids)
• 550g • 1¼ lb icing sugar
• 250g • 9oz really soft butter
• 2 tbsp milk (or water)

TO DECORATE

• 4 x 135g packets of brown or
• white Maltesers (optional)

♥ Preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C), 350F, gas mark 4, with the middle shelf at the ready. Grease 2 x 20cm • 8 in loose-bottomed sandwich cake tins with a little butter, line the bottoms with discs of baking parchment and sit them on a large baking sheet.

♥ Put the butter, sugar, flour, sour cream, eggs, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl or in a freestanding electric mixer or a food processor. Split the vanilla pod open, scrape out the seeds and add them also (or the vanilla extract). Then mix or blend to give a smooth, soft mixture.

♥ Divide evenly between the cake tins, smooth the tops and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

♥ To check the cakes are baked, insert a skewer into the middle of each cake and if it comes out clean, then they are ready to come out. Remove them from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before carefully removing and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack (about 25 minutes).

♥ When the cakes are almost cool, start making the buttercream. Break the chocolate into a medium bowl and melt it in the microwave in 30-second blasts, stirring inbetween. Otherwise, sit the bowl of chocolate on a medium pan of simmering water, making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl, as this may make the chocolate grainy.

♥ Sift the icing sugar into the electric mixer or processor bowl (or large bowl if doing by hand). If I use a food mixer or processor for this, I don’t worry about sifting it as the blade will do a good job of blending any lumps. Add the butter and milk (or water) and beat until it is really light and fluffy. You will need to do this like mad if blending by hand. Then pour in the melted chocolate, stirring all the time.

♥ Sit one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. I often put a little dollop of buttercream underneath the sponge so that the cake doesn’t move around. Then put about a third of the buttercream on and spread it around. Then sit the other sponge on top and spread the remaining buttercream all over so it is completely covered. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Doing this is a great excuse to get nice and messy.

♥ Once you have covered the cake, and of course yourself, suitably in chocolate, take the Maltesers and stick them all over the cake. I am pedantic about this as I want the balls to be in strict rows, so I start at the base of the cake and then go in a line, up the sides, over the top and down the other side. I am not ashamed to say that rulers have been used in the decorating of this cake for a super-sharp line! Line them up nice and tight with no gaps.

Chocolate and Raspberry Zebra Cake

I made this cake for my sisters birthday. It turned out really well.

It requires a little more effort and it is well worth it

Makes 22cm round cake• prep 40 mins•Cook 1hr 5 mins

Veg oil for greasing,

For Raspberry Sponge

150ml pot of raspberry yogurt
150ml / 1/4 pt vegetable oil
100g / 4oz frozen raspberries, defrosted
200g / 7oz self raising flour, plus an extra 5 tbsp
140g / 5 oz caster sugar
2 large eggs
Artificial pink food colouring

FOR CHOCOLATE SPONGE
200g / 7oz self raising flour
140g / 4oz caster sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 large eggs
150ml pot natural yogurt
150ml / 1/4 pt veg oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To Decorate

200ml double cream
100g seedless raspberry jam
100g dark chocolate bar, roughly chopped

Cheat - 1 pot Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Icing

• preheat oven to 180oC/160oC/gas 4. Grease and line base of deep 22cm round cake tin with baking parchment.
• to make the raspberry sponge, put the yogurt oil and raspberries into a food processor or blender, and whizz until well blended. Sieve, to remove the seeds, into a measuring jug until you reach 300ml. Discard the rest. 🍓
•make the two cakes. In two mixing bowls, separately mix the dry ingredients, plus a pinch of salt, for the raspberry and chocolate sponges. Crack in the eggs, then add the yogurt, oil and vanilla extract to choc cake and raspberry mix to the other. Beat each with an electric Whisk until smooth, cleaning whisks between bowls. Quickly stir some pink food colouring into the raspberry cake mix.
• sit the cake tin in front of you and a bowl of cake batter to each side , work fast. This is important that you be quick.
Using 2 1/2 cup measures or equal sized ladles spoon choc into the centre of the tin, don't wait for it to settle quickly too with raspberry mix and repeat choc, rasp, until finished. Put straight into the oven.
• bake for 1 hr until a skewer poked ino the middle comes out clean. Keep an eye on it you might cover it loosely with parchment paper after 45 mins if the cake is looking dark. (The top will crack). Cool in tin
. To decorate put cream and jam in a pan And bring nearly to the boil, stirring to melt the jam. Take off the heat, tip in chocolate and leave until melted. Stir together until smooth. When thick enough spread over cooled cake that has been removed from its tin.

Easy Moist Eggless Chocolate Cake

I got this recipe from a blog online. I have tried other eggless recipes for chocolate cake using condence milk / soy milk and they have been so dry. Was pleasantly surprised  by how nice this cake was, if I hadnt said it, no one would have guessed that it is an eggless cake.
Prep time: 15 Mins

Cook time: 25 Mins

Yields: 12 Servings

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
• 3/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 Cup Hot Coffee (I Mixed 1.25 Teaspoons Of Instant Coffee Powder With 1 Cup Of Hot Water)
• 1 Cup Milk (I Used Full Fat)
• 1/2 Cup Silken Tofu Pureed (I Used Clearspring Organic Brand Firm & Silken Tofu, you can get this in the health shop)
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 Packet Dr Oetker’s Organic Chocolate Icing Mix
• 1/4 Cup Hot Milk/Hot Water (Heat It In The Microwave Oven For 15 Seconds)
• 1/3 Cup Butter At Room Temperature (Which Is 5 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoon)
• 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• A Pinch Baking Soda

Cheat - Buy Betty Crocker Ready Made Icing

Cake Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F (160C) for 15 minutes.
2. Grease and flour (I used cocoa powder to flour the base of the pan because it’s a chocolate cake) two 9-inch cake pans.
3. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and sugar into a large mixing bowl.
4. Make a well. Add the vegetable oil. Then the hot coffee.
5. Add milk.
6. Add the pureed tofu. (Remove the silken tofu from the packet using a spoon add it to the blender and puree it to a creamy mixture)
7. And a couple of drops of vanilla essence.
8. With an electric mixer, beat at medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
9. Pour the batter evenly into both 9-inch cake pans. (or fill the 6 muffin cups halfway with batter and divide the remaining batter between both 8-inch pans).
10. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a wooden tooth pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (Check the cupcakes after 15 minutes).
11. Let the cakes cool completely before removing them from the pans.
12. The cake should cool completely on the wire rack before frosting.

Frosting Procedure:

1. Sift the mix.
2. Add the butter, hot milk, vanilla and baking soda. (I read in the same book that adding a pinch of baking soda to icings prevents hardening and cracking so icing stays moist)
3. Beat the mix using a hand mixer at medium-high speed. Add few drops of water/milk if required.

Frosting the cake:

1. First I placed the bottom layer upside down, so the rounded side (top of the cake will be on the serving plate). If you have dome top on the cake, even it out by slicing it with a serrated knife and then place it upside-down.
2. Spread about 1/2 of frosting on top of the bottom layer. Don’t use hard strokes, but spread it gently using an offset metal spatula or plastic spatula.
3. Now place the second layer on the first, cut or domed side up.
4. Frost the sides of the cake first with another 1/2 cup of frosting.
5. Finally frost the top of the second layer.

Was surprised at how moist this cake was considering there were no eggs in it. The coffee really enhanced the chocolate flavor.