Easter Cake!

I hope you all had a fab Easter weekend!

To celebrate the chocolatey craze, I decided to make a chocolate cake fit for a King - and it was delish.

The finished product!

Because I wanted a massive 'cartoon' looking cake (and I suddenly realised that I didn't have two cake tins the same size!) instead of halving the cake mixture, I made it twice, so doubled the ingredients.

You can see why I doubled up the ingredients!

As you can see, my plan worked, and the cake was gigantic and gorgeous:

Massive cake slices are a must!

For the middle I made a sweet buttercream, with icing sugar, butter and caster sugar and on the top I meted some milk chocolate and added some festive mini-eggs. But I think it would also be lovely with jam in the middle, and a buttercream topping, which I might try next time.

When cutting into the cake, we sliced rather large pieces, because it was Easter after all! But when finishing it off yesterday, I cut it into thinner slices, and it was much more enjoyable that way, because the tallness of it wasn't so overwhelming. (I also hadn't just eaten a roast lamb dinner, which probably helped!)
The sponge was light and fluffy, not at all dry, and the buttercream melted into your taste-buds. The cake should serve 8-10 people, but if you doubled up the recipe to make a massive cake like me, you'll need thinner slices, so it may serve more.

It was a winner all round, so definitely give it a go - Easter or not!

Here's the method and what you'll need to make it:

For the cake:

175g unsalted butter, softened (and extra for greasing)

175g self raising flour

175g caster sugar

3 large eggs

2 tbsp drinking chocolate

1 tbsp warm water

Filling:

125g icing sugar

1 1/2 oz unsalted butter, softened

1 tbsp whole milk

Topping:

250 melted chocolate

(or anything of your choice - be imaginative!)

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), gas mark 4 and grease two 20 cm (8 inch) shallow cake tins. (This is where I used my one massive cake tin and made the cake twice, one for the top, one for the bottom!)

2. Mix all of the cake ingredients into a large bowl until everything has mixed together, then pour into your cake tin/s and shake gently to level the surface.

3. Bake the cakes for 20 minutes (if using the two shallow tins) or 40 minutes each time, if making one big cake at a time. (Hence you'll be baking one cake for 40mins and the second one again, for another 40mins)

4. Once baked, check that the cake springs back when you push with your finger, and poke with a knife, to check it comes out clear. Put the cakes on a cooling rack.

5. Now, make your filling! Mix the ingredients together, until they form a lovely soft buttery texture. When the cakes are cool, add the filling to the bottom half, then top with the top half.

6. Over a bowl of simmering water, melt you chocolate, and immediately pour over the top of your cake. You can then decorate it accordingly.