I first made this cake 10 years ago and haven't changed a single thing! I absolutely love it.
Serves: 14
INGREDIENTS
- EQUIPMENT: 3 x 20cm (8in) round cake tins, greased and lined
For the sponge:
- 100g (1 cup) cocoa powder
- 1 tsp coffee granules
- 50ml (3½ tbsp) hot water
- 450g (2¼ cups) golden caster sugar
- 450g (2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
- 8 eggs
- 450g (scant 3½ cups)
- self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
For the buttercream:
- 1 batch Vanilla Buttercream (see pg 196) or buy your own
For the splatters:
- 200g (7oz) white chocolate, chopped
- 300ml (1¼ cups) double cream
- 5 different gel or paste food
METHOD
-
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4).
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Add the cocoa powder, coffee granules, and hot water to a small bowl and whisk to a smooth paste.
-
Beat the sugar and butter together until lighter in colour, and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate and coffee mix, and then sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt, and fold through.
-
Divide amongst the three tins and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
-
When the cakes are cool, level them with a knife to make them easier to stack. Then, slice each cake in half horizontally to give you six layers in total.
-
Spread some buttercream onto five of the cakes and stack them, putting the plain layer on top.
-
Crumb-coat the cake with more buttercream and refrigerate for30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes.
-
For the chocolate splatters, add the chocolate to a bowl and heat the cream in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until just below boiling. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and leave to stand for 2 minutes, then stir to a smooth ganache.
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Divide the ganache amongst five bowls and colour each a different colour with food colouring (go as cute and pastel or as bold and vibrant as you like!), then let cool to room temperature.
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Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream, giving it a smooth, sharp finish, and then refrigerate again until the buttercream hardens, around 20-30 minutes. This will give you a great canvas for your artistic splatters.
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Now to have fun! Use a teaspoon to flick the coloured ganache all over the cake (if it's a bit thick, you can blast it in the microwave at 10-second intervals to loosen it).