The yummiest chocolate cake ever… in my opinion! Rich, moist and delicious, filled with chocolate buttercream and salted caramel sauce. Is there anything better?
Cake Ingredients – for a deep 6 inch cake or standard size 8 inch round.
300g salted butter
180g dark muscovado sugar
180g golden caster sugar
8 medium eggs
1 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
100mls buttermilk
350g self raising flour
80g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
120g melted dark chocolate
Caramel ingredients
200g granulated sugar
100g salted butter
110mls thick double cream
2–3tspsalt
Buttercream ingredients
250g unsalted butter
500g icing sugar
100g dark chocolate
Add the softened butter into a mixer and mix for 2-3 minutes. Then add in the sugars and again, mix for a few minutes. Add the eggs into the butter mix one at a time. It will look curdled but don’t worry.
Measure out the buttermilk into a jug and also add in the vanilla extract. Then add this into the butter mix. It can look very odd at this point but I promise it will all come together once flour is added. While it is mixing, weight out all your dry ingredients into a separate bowl. This is the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarb. Add in a spoonful at a time into the mixer.
Last of all, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave. Its best to do this 10-15 seconds at a time so it doesn’t burn. Pour this into the mixer and its all done.
We split this into 4 6 inch round tins and it made a super tall cake around 6 inchs high. Yum! It would make a standard size 8 inch round cake. It is quite a thick batter so spread it out in the tin and leave a dip in the centre of the tin to allow for rising. Cook at 150, gas mark 2, for around 30-35 minutes.
Caramel
Get all your ingredients prepared before starting. Chop the butter up into chunks. Measure out the cream.
Heat the sugar in a saucepan over a low – medium heat. Its best to take your time doing this. Make sure you stir constantly. The sugar will go quite lumpy then turn an amber/brown colour. It can burn very easily now.
Next add the butter and keep stiring. It may bubble but keep stiring. Once the butter is all melted add the salt and pour in the cream slowly. It will bubble lots but again, keep stiring. Boil for 45 seconds then remove from the heat and allow to cool before use.
Buttercream
Add softened butter into a mixer and mix on high for 6-7 minutes, scraping down a few times.
Add in the icing sugar and mix again for a further 5 minutes. Pour in your melted chocolate. Try not to lick the bowl too much!
Piping
Using a Jem 2d or wilton 1m nozzle, pipe swirls of buttercream on each layer of your cooled cake, leaving the top cake until last. Before stacking, drizzle your caramel sauce all over the cake layers, letting it ooze over the sides. Stack the cake. You can pop in the fridge for 10 mintues at this point to firm up the buttercream before finishing off the top.
Smooth buttercream over the top with a palette knife then swirl buttercream in peaks around the edge. We finished the peaks off with Lindor caramel chocolate balls. Drizzle a little more sauce over the top. Make sure you hide it and keep it all to yourself!!!
Hints and tips
This made a double height 6 inch cake or it will make a standard 8 inch high cake.
Melt the chocolate in short bursts to stop it from burning.
If the caramel sets, you can soften it in the microwave, again, in short bursts of 10-15 seconds.
You can use unsalted butter, then add your own salt to taste.
Adding salt enhances the chocolate flavour.
The caramel will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
All ovens vary so please ensure you cook according to your oven. Timings may vary.
