Spectacular cakes for every occasion
THE ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CAKE
Serves 8
For the sponge
1 cups flour
1 cups caster sugar
cups cocoa powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong black coffee
1 cup buttermilk
cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla essence
For the chocolate buttercream
1 cup dark-chocolate chips
1 cups butter, softened
cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
For the chocolate glaze
cup dark-chocolate chips
4 tbsp butter
To serve
2 flaky chocolates, broken into pieces
cup chocolate balls, crushed
For the sponge
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line three 15 cm cake tins.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients together in one bowl, and whisk together the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
3. Gently mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix. Divide the batter between the prepared tins and bake in the oven for
22-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack. Cool completely.
For the chocolate buttercream
1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second bursts until smooth,
stirring regularly.
2. Beat the butter until pale and soft, then add the icing sugar. Beat to combine. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla essence and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
For the chocolate glaze
1. Place the chocolate chips and butter in a pot and melt gently over low-medium heat. Set aside to cool.
2. To assemble the cake, use a bread knife to slice the domed tops off the top of the sponges.
3. Place the first layer on your serving platter. Spread with buttercream, and then repeat with the remaining layers.
4. Spread a thin layer of buttercream around the cake and allow to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes before finishing with a final layer of buttercream. Place back in the fridge to cool slightly before pouring over the chocolate glaze and decorating with the flaky chocolate and crushed chocolate balls.
LEMON, BLUEBERRY, AND THYME LOAF CAKE
Makes 1 loaf
For the cake
cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups + 2 tbsp cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup blueberries, fresh
or defrosted
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp thyme leaves
For the glaze
cup icing sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
To serve
cup blueberries
For the cake
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
Grease and line a 23 × 13 cm loaf tin.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift
2 cups flour, baking powder and salt together. Fold into butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.
3. Place blueberries in a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons
of flour. Mix berries, zest and thyme into the cake batter.
4. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 50 minutes to
1 hour, until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in pan for at least 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool.
For the glaze
1. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Pour or drizzle over cooled cake.
2. Serve warm or at room temperature topped with the blueberries.
VANILLA & STRAWBERRY CAKE
Serves 8–10
For the sponge
2 cups flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
tsp salt
cup milk
1 cups amasi
2 eggs
1 cups caster sugar
cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla essence
For the buttercream icing
500 g butter
7 cups icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp milk
1 drop red food colouring
For the filling
cup strawberry jam
1 cup cream, whipped
1 tsp vanilla essence
To serve
cup strawberries
1 cup store-bought meringues
cup edible flowers
For the sponge
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line two 20 cm springform cake tins with non-stick spray and baking paper.
2. In a bowl, sift together flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
3. Mix the milk and amasi and set aside.
4. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the oil and vanilla essence, beat for 2 minutes. Gently fold the egg mixture into the milk and amasi.
5. Add the wet ingredients
to the dry ingredients and
mix well. Divide the cake batter between cake tins and bake for 30–35 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Once cooled, remove from the cake tins and cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before icing.
For buttercream icing
1. Using an electric mixer,
beat the butter until soft and creamy. Slowly beat in the icing sugar. Once all icing sugar is added, add in vanilla essence and milk. Mix until well combined.
2. Reserve half a cup of icing and add a drop of red food colouring to it.
Mix until it reaches a
pink shade.
For the filling
1. Slice the domed tops off
the cakes and spread the strawberry jam on the bottom layer. Pipe a circle of whipped cream around the edge of the layer before adding the top layer. Place it in the fridge.
2. To ice the cake, use a palette knife to apply the first layer of plain buttercream to the cake. Place back in the fridge to set for 10 minutes. Remove and ice with another layer of plain buttercream until coated.
3. Smudge a few spoons of pink icing into the white icing to create a marbled effect.
4. To serve, decorate with strawberries, meringues and edible flowers.
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