Chocolate Archives - The Love of Cake

January 22, 2016 by Lauren

Australia Day Cake

And now, something especially for my Australian readers…

26 January is Australia Day, which commemorates the arrival of English settlers to the Australian continent. For a change of taste this Australia Day, look no further than this delicious Tim Tam Cake. I’m doing my bit to make this cake an Australia Day classic.

Last year I had family visiting from The Netherlands and I was trying to think of an Australian dessert to serve them that was a bit different. With Pavlova still contested as a uniquely Australian dish, I wanted to create something distinctly Aussie. My solution – why not add Tim Tam’s to my rich chocolate mud cake?

Here is how it’s done…

Sift and mix all dry ingredients together whilst trying not to eat all the Tim Tams!

Look at that! Crushed Tim Tam… delicious. Chop finely two packets of Tim Tams and set aside.

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy then add vanilla and mix. Then add eggs one at a time and mix on low until combined.

Gradually mix in dry ingredients (excluding Tim Tams) to the butter and sugar mix, adding buttermilk with each addition. Cake batter should look like this once combined.

Now it’s time to add those yummy Tim Tams. Use a spatula or spoon to fold in as you don’t want to crush them any further.

Cake batter will look like this once Tim Tams have been added.

Bake on 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit) for 45-55 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool for at least two hours otherwise the filling will be a gooey mess. Once cooled, cut cake evenly in half and begin making the creamy filling.

The creamy filling is simply whipped cream, a tea spoon of sugar and yet another packet of Tim Tam’s finely chopped.

For the cake icing I used a simple chocolate icing which you can find within the recipe link at the end of this post.

Before adding cocoa and chocolate to the icing, set aside approximately four tablespoons of white icing. I would suggest placing the white icing in a piping bag. In my case I have had this Tupperware Squeeze for years which is easy to use, but is always difficult to clean as the icing gets stuck when washing up!

Layer on the icing thick!

Then smooth with a cake palette knife. If you don’t have one of these any knife or spatula with a smooth edge will do the trick.

It’s time to decorate!

Using two piping bags, one with white icing and another with chocolate, pipe a small amount of icing using any icing tip you like. I used the star tip.

Chop Tim Tams in half and add to each icing swirl.

All done! Looks so good.

The perfect Australia Day cake with a crunchy but moist texture.

Happy Baking and Happy Australia Day!

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Australia Day Cake

Author: Lauren

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 55 mins

Total time: 1 hour 25 mins

Ingredients

Cake

1⅓ cups plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
400 grams or two packets of finely crushed Tim Tams
225 grams ( 8 ounces) unsalted butter
½ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1¼ cups buttermilk
½ teaspoon bicarb
1 teaspoon baking powder

Icing

250 grams (9 ounces) butter
600 grams (21 ounces) or 4 cups pure icing sugar
60ml or ¼ cup full cream milk
2 tablespoons cocoa
300 grams ( 10.5 ounces) dark chocolate
200 grams or 1 packet of Tim Tams

Cake Filling

300ml thickened whipping cream
200 grams or 1 packet of Tim Tams
1 teaspoon sugar

Decoration

200 grams or 1 packet of Tim Tams

Instructions

Cake

Grease 24cm (10 inch) round baking tin
Heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit)
Sift all dry ingredients and set aside
Finely chop Tim Tams
In a separate bowl beat butter and sugar until fluffy
Add vanilla to butter mixture
Add eggs on at a time to butter mixture
Add all dry ingredients to butter mixture in two batches plus half the buttermilk with each addition
Fold in chopped Tim Tams
Place in tin
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until skewer comes out clean

Icing

At least one hour prior to making icing remove butter from fridge. This will ensure butter is at room temperature and easy to work with
Melt chocolate and set aside to cool
Cube butter and place in bowl. Beat on high until light and fluffy
Add sifted icing sugar one cup at a time along with a third of the milk and beat on high until well combined
Remove approximately four tablespoons of white icing
Add sifted cocoa powder and mix until well combined
Mix in melted chocolate on a low speed

Cake Filling

Chop Tim Tams and set aside
Add thickened cream to mixing bowl along with sugar and beat on high until cream is a whipped consistency
Fold in Tim Tams

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August 13, 2015 by Lauren

My Favourite Chocolate Buttercream Icing/Frosting

One of my favourite childhood memories is when my Mum would bake me a birthday cake. My sister and I would have spent weeks pouring over the Australian Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book to select our cake. When the time came to ice the cake it would be a fight over who got to lick the beaters!

This is my very favourite Chocolate Buttercream Icing/Frosting which always reminds me of my Mum’s. When I have made cakes for friends’ birthdays they always ask ‘How do you make this icing? It is amazing!’ Well, here it is. My secret recipe. Once you make this, you will never want to use another icing or frosting again!

Start by beating the butter for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

Sift in icing sugar one cup at a time along with a third of the milk each time and then mix on low speed. Repeat until all icing sugar and milk has been combined.

Sift cocoa powder and then mix on low speed for thirty seconds or until well combined.

This is what it should look like after cocoa powder has been mixed in. Don’t worry if your icing/frosting is a bit stiff as the chocolate is yet to come.

My favourite part… adding melted chocolate! Mix until well combined on low speed. I always use dark chocolate as have found milk chocolate makes the icing sickly sweet. But, if you love all things sweet you can use dairy milk or for that matter any chocolate you like.

The finished product… it’s time to lick the beater! This recipe will make enough icing/frosting for approximately 12 to 18 cupcakes depending on size or one large round or square cake.

Happy Frosting!

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My Favourite Chocolate Buttercream Icing/Frosting

Author: www.theloveofcake.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Ingredients

250 grams (9 ounces) butter
600 grams (21 ounces) or 4 cups pure icing sugar
60 ml or ¼ cup full cream milk
2 tablespoons cocoa
300 grams (10.5 ounces) dark chocolate

Instructions

At least one hour prior to making icing remove butter from fridge. This will ensure butter is at room temperature and easy to work with
Melt chocolate and set aside to cool
Cube butter and place in bowl. Beat on high until light and fluffy
Add sifted icing sugar one cup at a time along with a third of the milk and beat on high until well combined
Add sifted cocoa powder and mix until well combined
Mix in melted chocolate on a low speed

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July 2, 2015 by Lauren

Triple Layer Mud Cake with Chocolate Buttercream & Ganache

I can’t lie. This cake was hard work. Once you have the first bite you will see it’s well worth it though!

Look at those layers…. starting from the top; marble mud cake, dark chocolate mud cake and finally white chocolate mud cake.

Each layer is made in its own individual cake tin; however it’s only mixing up two cake recipes. For speed I did both mixtures at the same time, that way all three cakes could bake at once.

The cake mix can be split into three easy steps.

Step #1 – Mix up chocolate mud cake as per recipe. Take approximately two thirds of the mixture and pour into a cake tin. Set aside the remaining one third of the mixture.

Step #2 – Mix up white chocolate mud cake as per recipe. Take approximately two thirds of the mixture and pour into a cake tin. Set aside the remaining one third of the mixture.

Step #3 – This is the fun part. Making the marble cake. With your third tin add spoonfuls of the dark and white chocolate mix, then swirl. Yum… it kind of looks like scoops of ice cream.

Bake for 35-40 minutes in a moderate oven at 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit).

Once baked, allow your cakes to cool for atleast two hours before layering with buttercream filling.

This buttercream filling is amazing! I made mine extra white with Wilton White Icing Colour so it stands out when you cut the cake layers and loses that yellowy look.

Time to layer it up! To separate the white chocolate and marble cake layers I felt the best way to layer the cake would be with white chocolate mud cake on the bottom, followed by dark chocolate mud cake and topped with marble mud cake.

For the buttercream filling you want it to be thick so when the cake is cut you can distinctly see the separation between the layers. Go ahead and layer it on thick! Once layered, go around the edge of the cake to remove any excess buttercream as you don’t want the white colour to ooze through chocolate topping.

Tips for buttercream filling

#1 – Layer cake with the buttercream filling one day prior to icing as this will allow it to set well and make icing the cake easier. This will also prevent the white buttercream from mixing with the chocolate topping.

#2 – Try to keep buttercream layers even

#3 – Make it thick so the layers will stand out

#4 – As the cake is heavy, layer it on the plate or cake board that it will be served on as it will be very difficult to move once decorated

One of my favourite ways to decorate a cake is with rich dark chocolate buttercream… for the triple layer cake I couldn’t decide between dark chocolate butter cream icing or chocolate ganache… so I thought, why not do both?

Layer the dark chocolate butter cream on thick, start at the top of the cake and work your way down the sides of the cake.

This amazing chocolate buttercream icing is filled with dark chocolate so by the time it comes to smooth the icing you will notice it has begun to set which makes smoothing difficult.

My tip is to dip the metal spatula or knife into a cup of boiling water, quickly wipe and then smooth around the cake. The heated spatula will make a smooth finish like this… remember it doesn’t need to be perfect as we are about to drizzle chocolate ganache all over it.

Can chocolate and cream look any better than this? Start drizzling from the centre of the cake and just let the ganache dribble down the sides of the cake.

I dribbled the entire quantity of the ganache all over the cake as I wanted good coverage. If you would like your cake to have more of the buttercream icing showing through, just add less ganache as you are pouring. The cake does look a bit of a mess so before the ganache sets move any excess from the base with a spatula and then clean the plate.

I was thinking of making chocolate curls, but was running out of time. To make the white chocolate decoration it is really simple. Melt white chocolate, spread a thin layer on a tray with baking paper, place in the freezer until it sets, then just crack into large pieces and push into the top of the cake in any pattern you like.

And you are done! Now for a slice of cake and coffee… that will make for a lovely afternoon.

Happy baking!

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Triple Layer Mud Cake with Chocolate Buttercream and Ganache

Author: Lauren

Recipe type: Baking

Prep time: 3 hours

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 3 hours 35 mins

Ingredients

Chocolate Mud Cake

160 grams (5.5 oz) unsalted butter
200 grams (7 oz) dark chocolate
1⅓ cup caster sugar
1 cup plain flour
½ cup self raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk

White Mud Cake

160 grams (5.5 oz) unsalted butter)
250 grams (9 oz) white chocolate
1 cup sugar
⅔ cup of buttermilk
1⅓ cup plain flour
½ cup self raising flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon baking powder

Marble Mud Cake

Once dark and white chocolate mixes have been made ⅓ of each mix is set aside to create marble mud cake

Vanilla Buttercream

250 grams ( 9 ounces) butter
600 grams ( 4 cups) pure icing sugar sifted
60ml (1/4 cup) full cream milk
Wilton White Icing colour (optional)

Chocolate Buttercream

250 grams (9 ounces) butter
600 grams (4 cups) pure icing sugar sifted
2 tablespoons cocoa
250 grams (9 ounces) dark chocolate melted
60ml (1/4) cup of full cream milk (optional)

Chocolate Ganache

¾ cup thickened cream
200 grams ( 7 ounces) dark chocolate
25 grams ( 1 ounce) unsalted butter

Instructions

Dark Chocolate Mud Cake

Grease 18 cm (8 inch) round tin
Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder. Set aside.
In a separate bowl melt dark chocolate and then set aside to cool
In a separate bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add vanilla
Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture, mix well after each addition
Stir in melted chocolate and mix until well combined
Add in a third of the sifted ingredients and a third of buttermilk, repeat until all combined
Pour two thirds of mixture into greased pan. The remaining one third of the mixture should be set aside for marble cake
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean in 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit) oven
Cool for ten minutes in the pan before placing on a wire rack to cool

White Chocolate Mud Cake

Grease 18 cm (8 inch) round tin
Sift flour and baking powder. Set aside
In a separate bowl melt white chocolate and then set aside to cool
In a separate bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add vanilla
Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture, mix well after each addition
Stir in melted chocolate and mix until well combined
Add in a third of the sifted ingredients and a third of buttermilk, repeat until all combined
Pour two thirds of mixture into greased pan. The remaining one third of the mixture should be set aside for marble cake
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean in 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit) oven
Cool for ten minutes in the pan before placing on a wire rack to cool

Marble Mud Cake

Grease 18 cm (8 inch) round cake tin
Drop alternative spoonfuls of dark and white cake mixes into tin
Once full swirl a spatula or thin knife back and forth through the mix
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean in 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit) oven
Cool for ten minutes in the pan before placing on a wire rack to cool

Vanilla Buttercream

Butter needs to be at room temperature so remove from fridge at least one hour prior to use
Cut butter into small cubes and place into mixing bowl
Use electric beater on high and beat butter for 3 minutes or until fluffy
Gradually add icing sugar a cup at a time with a small amount of the milk until all combined
If icing is fairly thick add small amounts of milk until happy with consistency
Add chosen icing colour and mix until well combined
This recipe will make enough icing for one cake or 12-18 cupcakes depending on the icing technique used

Chocolate Buttercream

Melt dark chocolate and allow to cool slightly
Butter needs to be at room temperature so remove from fridge at least one hour prior to use
Cut butter into small cubes and place into mixing bowl
Use electric beater on high and beat butter for 3 minutes or until fluffy
Mix in sifted cocoa powder
Gradually add icing sugar a cup at a time. If icing sugar is not dissolving well add small amount of the milk but only if required
Mix in melted dark chocolate until well combined

Chocolate Ganache

Melt chocolate and butter together in saucepan over low heat stirring regularly
Add cream and allow to simmer for 5 minutes
Set aside to cool 5- 10 minutes then apply to cake

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May 28, 2015 by Lauren

Construction Party Favours Chocolate Honeycomb Brownies

For my son’s second birthday party I’m thinking of a construction theme as he is mad for anything with wheels and trucks are his favourite.

As I’m about everything cake, giving guests lolly bags just doesn’t seem right. Instead, I came up with the idea of making favour bags containing chocolate honeycomb brownies and a toy truck as a gift.

Here’s how it’s done….

Start by cutting butter into cubes and add 150 grams of dark chocolate. You can also use dairy milk if you would like the brownies to be super sweet but I’ve always found brownies are richer with dark chocolate. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a glass bowl over a low heat. Whilst the chocolate and butter is melting sift and combine all dry ingredients.

Don’t forget to check the melting chocolate and keep stirring every few minutes to avoid lumps and burning. Once melted, remove from heat to cool slightly… oh, look at the chocolate…yummy!

Time to add the eggs one at a time and then vanilla. Don’t worry if the mix is very dry and lumpy – this is normal.

Stir in the melted butter and chocolate. The mix will again be lumpy but that’s ok as it helps with the brownies chunkiness!

Mix in chocolate chips. If I wasn’t adding honeycomb I would have used bigger chocolate chips but these are the perfect size when adding another chocolate ingredient.

Preheat your oven to 170 degree Celsius (340 Fahrenheit). As I wanted thinner brownies for the favour bags I have used a 33 x 23cm (13 x 9 inch) rectangular tin. If you would like thicker brownies use a square tin however I would recommend doubling the quantity of the mixture so you have enough for the favour bags.

Pour in half of the brownie mix. The the texture will be a bit like a paste so you will need to spread it all over the tin. My favourite part… as I might have had a piece of honeycomb or two… chop honeycomb pieces in half and press into the mix. Allow space between otherwise the brownie will become one big honeycomb piece!

Pour remaining brownie mix over honeycomb pieces, don’t worry if the honeycomb is sticking out slightly as the brownies will rise during baking to cover.

Yum brownies baking! Bake for 35 – 40 minutes. You want the brownie to be a bit goey so when it hardens it will be moist.

The finished brownie! Allow 10 minutes to cool in pan before removing otherwise you risk it breaking into pieces.

The real fun begins – making the favour bags!

I would recommend making the favour bags the afternoon or morning prior to your party so the brownies are kept fresh. Refrigerate the brownies for at least two hours before cutting into small squares as this will limit breakage when packing into the favour bags.

Slice the brownies into small squares…look at that honeycomb!

Here is the assembly line for the Construction Party favour bags. You can really add any type of chunky chocolate you like. I’ve used chopped honeycomb and chocolate chips, but you might like to add Maltesers or yellow M&M’s.

Add three to four pieces of brownie to the favour bag. I’ve chosen cellophane bags so the brownies and gift can be clearly seen and look oh so good on display!

Time to add the honeycomb and chocolate chips plus any other chocolate you desire.

Add your gift, tie off with a ribbon and thank you tag.

I love these trucks from Mega Bloks . Inexpensive but a great toy that any boy would love! You can also buy other styles of truck for girls as well. If you are in Australia I purchased mine from a local Woolworths on sale for $1.95 each.

Matchbox also have a really great range of construction vehicles to, which I have included in the favour bags as well.

Makes approx 8 to 10 favour bags. If you are trying to save you could also make without the gift.

Here is the finished product! Happy Construction Party!

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Construction Party Favours Chocolate Honeycomb Brownies

Author: Lauren

Recipe type: Kids Cakes

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

225 grams (8 ounces) unsalted butter
1¼ cups of sugar
3 eggs
½ cup of cocoa powder
2½ cups of plain flour
½ teaspoon of vanilla
150 grams (5 ounces) dark chocolate
½ cup of chocolate chips

Instructions

Honeycomb Chocolate Brownies

Preheat oven to a moderate 170 degrees Celsius (340 Fahrenheit)
Melt 150 grams (8 ounces) of dark chocolate and unsalted butter together in saucepan or microwave
Mix all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Sugar, cocoa and flour
Gradually mix in each egg one by one
Add vanilla extract
Add melted chocolate and butter. Mix well until all combined
Mix in ½ cup of chocolate chips
Mixture will be fairly stiff and moist
Pour half the brownie mix into 33 x 23 cm pan (13 x 9 inch)
Slice honeycomb and layer
Pour remaining brownie mix over the honeycomb layer. Brownie mix will be the consistency of a paste so you will need to spread the mixture over the honeycomb
Bake for 40 minutes
Brownies will come out of the oven a bit gooey however will harden once cooled

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April 24, 2015 by Lauren

How To Make A Packet Cake Mix Taste Homemade

We all know that sometimes you need to use a store bought packet cake mix, but that’s no reason you can’t try to disguise it as homemade.

There is no doubt many packet cake mixes are delicious, but I love to make them just that little bit tastier. First of all it’s good to start with a well known and trusted brand as your base for the packet cake mix, my personal favourites are White Wings and Betty Crocker.

Today I have chosen chocolate cake but the same substitutions can be made with any vanilla cake – just substitute dark chocolate for white chocolate.

It’s fairly simple just make the following changes and additions!

#1 Switch oil to melted butter

#2 Use buttermilk instead of water

#3 Add one extra egg than the packet cake mix calls for

#4 Add half a cup of melted chocolate buttons. If vanilla cake, use white chocolate and if chocolate cake, use dark or dairy milk chocolate. Always remember that the chocolate should be of good quality

#5 Follow the packet cake method as outlined on the packaging, simply substituting ingredients as outlined above. Add the chocolate once all other ingredients have been mixed

#6 As your cake will have slightly more wet ingredients than the packet cake mix calls for, this will make your cake that much more moist and rich. Allow enough time to give the cake an extra 10 minutes to bake if it needs.

If you love rich and moist icing as I do, all you need to do is add 1 cup of good quality melted chocolate buttons to the packet icing mix. I think you’ll agree that it’s super simple and that much more delicious.

Here is the finished product, with a little grated white chocolate to decorate.

Look how moist and pretty that is! Don’t eat it all at once!

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