Max's birthday Chocolate Cake recipe as featured on Instagram

Max's birthday Chocolate Cake recipe as featured on Instagram

Co-founder Claire here with the recipe for my chocolate cake as I made for our son Max's 13th birthday last Friday and as requested by folk after seeing my instagram post!
The cake is my version of the birthday cake that my mum used to make for me & my sister when we were teenagers & the recipe is in the Chococo Chocolate Cookbook. However, this time I experimented with a passionfruit curd & marscapone filling & covered it with a classic chocolate ganache, both of which really worked...so this is my Devilishly Delicious Chocolate Cake recipe with a 2018 twist!

By the way, I decorated Max's with a pile of fresh cherries, raspberries & blueberries in the middle & dusted it all with icing sugar...not desparately macho for a 13 year old boy, but he likes his fruit & was very happy! 

Ingredients:
225ml milk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
200g plain flour
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
75g cocoa powder
100g soft unsalted butter
3 large beaten eggs (at room temperature)
100g light muscovado sugar
125g golden caster sugar

Filling:

125g marscapone
125g passionfruit or lemon curd

Frosting:

200g 70% dark chocolate
250ml double cream (have some extra to hand in case it splits - see below)
30g unsalted butter


x2 20 cm cake tins, greased & dusted with cocoa powder

Pre heat the oven to 180 C, 350 F, Gas mark 4


Method:

  • Pour the milk into a jug, add the lemon juice and leave to sour whilst you prepare the rest of the cake
  •  Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder together into a bowl
  •  Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy & light in colour
  •  Gradually add the beaten eggs to the sugar & butter mixture
  •  Alternately fold in the soured milk and flour to the egg mixture until all mixed together.
  •  Divide the cake mix between the two tins and tap them to ensure they are level
  •  Check the cakes after 25 minutes. They are ready when a skewer comes out clean and the sponge bounces back when you touch it.
  •  Leave in the tins for approx 10 minutes before turning out to cool
  • While the cakes are cooling, make the filling

 

The filling:

  • Mix the marscapone & curd together until you have a smooth mixture
  • When the cakes are cold, sandwich together with this mixture
  • If necessary, put the cake in the fridge until you are ready to decorate it with the ganache to stop this filling getting too soft



The ganache:

  • Melt the chocolate, cream & butter very slowly together in a large heavy based pan, stirring gently until the chocolate melts into the cream & you have a smooth emulsion. 
  • Take off the heat & leave to cool - it will thicken up as it cools
  • If it splits on you (the emulsion starts to separate), add more warmed cream until it recombines into a glossy emulsion
  • Once it has started to thicken, pour over the top of the cake & use a large metal spatula to spread it around the sides of the cake too. 



To serve, it’s up to you - fresh fruit, icing sugar, chocolate malt balls, chocolate curls, coloured chocolate beans, silver balls, traditional sweeties, sparklers…be creative according to the age of your audience!

 

 

 

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