Birthday Weekends

This weekend is going to be a busy one, we are celebrating two Birthdays with friends and family. 

In the spirit of celebrating and all the delicious goodness which comes with Birthdays, here is a Chocolate Cake recipe I stumbled upon recently which looks truly delicious.

Gorgeous Birthday Cake. Image from Pinterest. 

It has some similarities to the Red Velvet Cupcakes, by the fact is also has buttermilk, which definitely seems to the the secret ingredients to getting perfectly moist sponge cakes. 

Chocolate Buttermilk Layer Cake

Ingredients:

This recipe makes one medium sized cake with 2 layers, but I would suggest doubling this recipe to make one large cake with 4 layers, baking it in 2 batches. As with a Red Velvet Cake, this Chocolate Cake will be the centre of attention, the bigger, the better, more for everyone. 

Cake:

• 1 Cup water 125 g butter, cubed

• 1/3 Cup cocoa powder, sifted

• 2 Cups flour, sifted

• 1t Baking soda, sifted (bicarbonate of soda)

• 2 cups (440 g) caster sugar

• 2 eggs ½ cup (125 ml) buttermilk

• 1 t (5 ml) vanilla essence/extract

Icing:

• 250g Plain Cream Cheese, at room temperature

• 100g Butter, softened

• 2 Cups icing sugar, sifted

• 50g Cocoa powder, sifted

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 C.

Place water, butter and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until butter has melted. Remove from heat.

Place flour, baking soda and sugar in a bowl, add the cocoa mixture and whisk to combine. Add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and whisk to combine.

Divide mixture between 2 greased and lined 20 cm round cake tins, then bake for 40-45 min or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Please ensure you watch this cake after about 30min, every oven is different, if you are unsure if its cooked, rather do the fork test around the 35min mark. Poke a clean fork into the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean it's done, if not, leave it for another 5min and check again depending on how uncooked the mixture/sponge is. 

Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out on wire racks to cool completely. Try and avoid putting cooling sponges in a draught, I'm always paranoid the sponge dry's out.

Icing: 

Now for the icing, pop the butter and cream cheese in a bowl, mix and beat with an electric beater for about for 6-8 minutes until pale and creamy. 

Add the icing sugar and cocoa and beat for a further 6-8 minutes until light and fluffy.

To assemble, slice off the round tops of each cake layer to produce smooth, flat layers. Try using a long, non serrated knife for a clean cut. Some baking shops sell cake wire, which looks very professional, I tried it and failed dismally. A knife also works :)

Place one layer on a pretty cake plate, spread with the icing, then put the remaining half on top and cover with icing, until you have all four layers in a pile, icing in between and on top.

A tower of chocolate.

Bit like a Chocolate Velvet Cake. Image from Pinterest. 

I plan to make this over the weekend, and will pop some pics up of how it turns out.

Let me know if you have any cake recipes you'd like to share, and I'd love to hear about it, if you make this cake and what you think!

Can't wait to get baking! Image from Pinterest.

Enjoy!

xx C

Tips: You can decorate your cake with anything you fancy, cherries, sprinkles, crumbled Cadbury Flake or pretty sugar hearts.

For something WOW try a single colour of bright sprinkles, as in the picture about, really does give the cake some extra drama.