Chocolate Whiskey Layer Cake

Rich chocolate sponge, condensed milk & whiskey buttercream, chocolate ganache

We’ve just got back from two days in the beautiful county of Rutland celebrating a friend’s 30th birthday. With the recent bout of unexpected and unseasonally warm weather, he couldn’t have picked a better weekend for us to spend outside and out of London (or Leeds, where he lives), enjoying each others’ company, soaking up some sunshine and drinking in the country air.

I don’t really need to tell you that I offered to bring a birthday cake. That goes without saying and is pretty much what you’ve been waiting for, right?

Double Chocolate Cardamom & Rose Cake

Lightly spiced chocolate cardamom cake with white chocolate rose buttercream

One of my all-time favourite photos comes from a book of cakes. But it’s not just any old food photograph. This is a picture of my big brother as a toddler – all beaming smiles and golden curls – sitting in front of a giant drum-shaped birthday cake, two batons clutched in his hands. The photo was taken for a book written by one of my mum’s friends, Cakes for Kids, and provides the perfect snapshot of what baking and birthday cakes are – in my mind – all about; the pleasure of creating something to share with others, something that will bring joy long after plates are licked clean and memories are all that remain. The look of glee on my brother’s face says it all.

Hazelnut cupcakes with dark chocolate buttercream

Light hazelnut cupcakes with dark chocolate buttercream

I don’t know about you, but my baking goes through phases. While chocolate is a fairly reliable constant in my recipe repertoire, I love to try new flavours and textures; once I’ve discovered an ingredient or technique, I like to explore all the different possibilities it might hold. Dulce de leche was a recent find – once I realised how easy it is to make yourself I was adding it to everything from pecan and banoffee pies to ice cream sundaes, cookies and even brownies (recipe here).

A couple of weeks ago I posted a recipe for Gianduja ice cream chocolate chip cookie sandwiches.  It was the first recipe I’ve made with my brand new ice cream maker (another slight obsession), and got me seriously excited about hazelnuts as an ingredient for the first time. Although I’ve been a lifelong fan of Nutella, I hadn’t really considered the flavours of a simple roasted hazelnut outside the context of this chocolatey, sugary spread.

Simple chocolate birthday cake with white chocolate frosting

Simple chocolate cake with white chocolate frosting and stars

When it comes to birthdays, chocolate has always been my cake of choice. My Mum loved spending time in the kitchen with me and my brother as kids, and always encouraged us to choose and make our own cakes. While a simple sponge topped with a mixture of Greek yoghurt and melted chocolate was her standard offering, over the years I can variously remember: a chocolate elephant iced in pink fondant and studded with silver balls; a giant ‘K’ initial decorated with orange and lemon jelly slices; a chocolate biscuit rabbit on a bed of grass-green jelly (this bizarre favourite from the fabulous spiral-bound Keep Out of the Kitchen Mum became a birthday staple for several years in a row and still holds  special place in my heart); a giant horse’s head complete with ‘writing icing’ bridle (when I was going through the inevitable pony phase); a classic chocolate fudge cake covered in edible leaves. I could go on . . .

Espresso cupcakes with fudgy Nutella frosting

It’s my friend’s birthday this week and I wanted to make something suitably delicious and gifty to mark the occasion. Celebrations would be taking place in a bar after work which slightly dictated the format my baking could take; I wanted something fairly dainty so people could stand and chat without having to manage too many stray sticky crumbs, but also something with strong enough flavours to still pack a punch several vodkas into the evening.

Chocolate biscuit birthday cake

A couple of weeks ago a certain young couple tied the knot amidst a media frenzy. As they prepared for the big day (I imgine thanking a higher being for their respective soon-to-be enlarged bank account and expanded gene pool), the nation (and beyond) became obsessed with every detail of the wedding; who would be attending, what they’d be wearing, the flowers, the food, the drink and, of course, that dress.

The hot topic closest to my little loaf heart, however, was who would be making the cake. This honour fell to the fabulous Fiona Cairns, who produced a suitably stunning creation, but, not being a huge fruit cake fan, what really caught my eye was Prince William’s chocolate biscuit groom’s cake. Apparently this simple slab of unbaked chocolate, butter and biscuits is a childhood favourite of William’s. Not hugely regal or royal – I love the thought of dignitaries from around the world munching on what is essentially a glorified Rice Krispie cake – but totally delicious and a funny insight into a slightly more human side of the Windsor family.

Chocolate biscuit, or refrigerator, cake is a firm favourite in my family, and has been since childhood (nope, I’m not secretly a member of the royal family, although we clearly share a similarly sophisticated palate when it comes to cake. . .). My mum used to make it for birthdays in a bunny-shaped mould, presenting the giant chocolate rabbit shape on a bed of green jelly grass. The height of six year old sophistication. Over the years our biscuit cake has matured and we now serve it in thin, rich slices, laced with dried fruit and booze as an alternative to Christmas cake. But at heart it’s still a birthday treat, so when my aunt asked me to bake a cake for my cousin’s 21st, we knew it had to be chocolate biscuit.

Making a cake for fifty people is no mean feat. This concoction required a kilo of chocolate, a tin of golden syrup, enough slabs of butter to block your arteries just by looking at them, a vast packet of digestives (McVities take note, apparently Will’s cake was made with Rich Tea biscuits. Schoolboy error.) and a whole box of eggs. Chocolate biscuit cake, while incredible to eat, is hardly very elegant, so I also whizzed up butter, sugar and cocoa to create a thick buttercream frosting to mask the lumpy bumpy bits – totally unnecessary but actually rather delicious to have that contrast between the cool, crunchy cake and soft, creamy icing. I topped the whole thing off with some beautiful homemade chocolate roses (actually really easy, read my earlier post for instructions here) and was pretty happy with the final result. It certainly got polished off pretty quick by the hungry crowds.

A cake fit for a King? Who knows, it might just make the grade.

Chocolate biscuit cake for 50
(For a more manageable recipe simply divide each quantity by 5)

Ingredients:

625g butter
375g golden syrup
1kg dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa solids, broken into pieces
5 eggs
500g digestive biscuits
250g walnuts

Method:

Grease and line two large cake tins (I used one 20″ and one 22″ square) and set aside.

Melt together the butter and golden syrup in a large pan. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie, then mix throughly with the butter and syrup mixture. Pasteurise the eggs by beating slowly and continuously into the hot chocolate mixture.

Put the biscuits in a large plastic bag and beat with a rolling pin until broken into a mixture of powder and larger chunks. Do the same with the walnuts then add to the chocolate mixture and stir until fully incorporated. You could also add raisins or other dried fruit at this stage if you wish, along with a splash of rum or other alcohol.

Press the mixture into the prepared tins and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 5 hours.

Buttercream frosting

Ingredients:

500g icing sugar
200g butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
Dash of milk
4 tbsp cocoa powder

Method:

Blitz the sugar and butter in a blender. Add vanilla extract and enough milk until a thick, creamy frosting is formed. Transfer approximately 1/4 of the mixture into a small bowl and pop in the fridge (this is for the paler piping you can see in the pic). Add the cocoa powder to the remaining mixture and blitz until fully incorporated.

Remove the cakes from the fridge. Transfer the larger cake onto a plate or cake board and layer the next one on top, securing together with a small amount of icing. Cover the cakes in a smooth layer of chocolate buttercream, then pipe the plain vanilla frosting round the edges. Decorate with chocolate roses, then return to the fridge and chill. Remove from the fridge around 40 mins before you want to serve to allow the flavours to really come through.

Did you know? When googling Will’s groom’s cake I read that while a classic wedding cake is served to the guests at the wedding reception, the groom’s cake is meant to be sliced up, placed into packages and given to them as favours when they leave. Single women at the wedding would take their pieces of cake home and sleep with it under their pillows in hopes of dreaming of their future husbands… (!) Bizarre advice and not something I’d recommend. Chocolate biscuit cake is meant for eating and will likely result in a hugely sticky mess if left under your pillow (although on reflection it would provide a pretty good midnight feast…)

Royal Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese frosting

Rich red velvet cake for a Royal Wedding

Yes I know, I’m a little bit late. The Royal Wedding happened yesterday, it’s old news, and anyone with a vested interest in making wedding themed goods will have already found, baked and eaten the recipe of their choice by the time this goes live. But I was just having too much fun gawping at the TV, gossiping about the dress, gobbling party food and sipping champagne to even consider posting this yesterday. However, since I felt this strange patriotic need to bake something delicious (and a little bit silly) to mark the occasion of Kate and Will’s happy day, I thought I mightas well share it here. Better late than never (as Prince Charles might be heard to comment on acceding to the throne).

I recently bought The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days, a collection of sinfully sickly all-American cakes and treats that puts a smile on your face and an inch on your hips just by looking at the pictures. I’ve never made Red Velvet cake before, and thought it sounded appropriately rich and royal, with the pale cream cheese frosting a perfect canvas to decorate. The recipe suggests individual cupcakes, but I wanted to make something larger so adjusted the ingredients accordingly. I think my calculations were slightly too casual as the resulting cakes were a little denser than I’d have liked, so I’ve provided the original cupcake quantities below. This recipe will make 12 large individual cupcakes, or, if doubled will fill three 20cm cake pans. Anything in between and I’m afraid you’ll have to make like me and fall back on that ancient maths GCSE . . .

The Red Velvet recipe produces a moist, tender crumb, creamy from the addition of buttermilk, with a mild chocolate flavour. I’m not quite sure where the idea for red colouring comes from, but it’s nothing more exotic than a heavy dose of red food dye (I think I’d imagined beetroot, raspberry or some other exciting ingredient). You may notice from my snaps that my cake is a little on the brown side – more Queen Mum than Kate Middleton – and this is because I took a more organic, hippy approach and tried to use natural food dyes. Don’t. It may contain a few undesirable E-numbers, but in amongst the lashings of butter, sugar and chocolate, a little bit of red food dye isn’t going to hurt you, and it is 100% necessary to produce the trademark scarlet crumb you’ll see in the Hummingbird book.

In the spirit of all things British I decorated my cake with a Union Jack, piping extra frosting over a layer already so thick you could leave giant teeth-marks in it. I finished it off with little edible sugar flowers and silver balls, and served with big juicy strawberries. Kate and Will’s wedding cake looked delicious, but if you’re looking for something a little more simple and silly, this is the recipe for you.

Royal Red Velvet Cake (from The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days)

For the sponge:

120g unsalted butter, softened
300g caster sugar
2 large free range eggs
20g cocoa powder
40ml red food colouring
1 tsp vanilla essence
300g plain flour, sifted
1 tsp salt
240ml buttermilk
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the frosting:

100g unsalted butter, softened
600g icing sugar
250g full fat cream cheese

One 12-hole deep muffin tin, or three 20cm cake pans if you double quantities to make a three-layer cake.

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.  Line your muffin tin with cases or grease and line the cake pans.

Using a hand held electric whisk, cream together the butter and sugar til pale and fluffy. Break in the eggs one at a time and continue to whisk to a smooth, light mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa, vanilla essence and food colouring until they form a paste. Mix into the cake batter until fully incorporated. Slowly add the flour in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk to create a smooth consistency. Add the salt, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and mix to a smooth batter.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cases or cake pans, approx. 2/3 full, then bake in the oven for 18-20 mins or until the sponge bounces back when lightly pressed. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, put the butter and icing sugar in a blender and process to a smooth crumb. Add the cream cheese and blend til smooth, then fill an icing bag and pipe over the cupcakes, or use to layer and cover your single giant cake. Pop in the fridge for an hour or so to set then finish with decorations of your choice.