An easy chocolate cake that never fails to impress, styled for Easter with a delicious icing
Prep time 20 mins
Cooking time 1 hr 30 mins
Serves Approximately 10
INGREDIENTS
250 g unsalted butter
200 g dark chocolate roughly chopped
1 tablespoon instant coffee dissolved in 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) hot water
460 g caster sugar
185 g self-raising flour
75 g plain flour
30 g best quality cocoa powder
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ganache Icing
1 cup pouring cream
350 g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
20g butter
Buttercream Icing
250 g unsalted butter, softened
480 g icing (confectioners) sugar
60 g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
80 ml (4 tablespoons) milk
METHOD
1 Preheat oven to 150 C. Grease and line the base and side of a 24 cm springform cake tin.
2 Melt butter in a saucepan on a low heat and add the chocolate, stirring to melt. Add the coffee and water mixture and sugar, stirring to dissolve.
3 Remove the pan from the heat, stir to combine, and pour into a large mixing bowl. Cool for 5 minutes. Sift the flours and cocoa into the chocolate mixture and stir through. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine with an electric mixer until smooth.
4 Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until the cake is cooked through (this is a very moist cake). The top will be crusty and cracked. If you prefer a smoother top, cut a piece of baking paper the size of the cake top and place it on top of the mixture before baking.
Ganache Icing
1 Heat the cream until it comes to the boil. Remove immediately from heat. Pour cream over chopped chocolate and butter and stir until mixture is combined and smooth. Place ganache in the refrigerator for around 45 min to thicken and then spread over cake.
Buttercream Icing
1 Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the K beater attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer. Sift 400 g of the sugar and the cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Increase to medium and add vanilla, salt, and milk and beat for 3 minutes. If your icing to be stiffer, add a little more sugar. If it needs to be thinned out, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
The Carousel thanks to Savoury Sweet Life for this icing recipe, David Morgan for styling our cake so beautifully, and to Alan Benson for the fabulous shots.
