It. Was. Amazing.
As I melted the chocolate for the buttercream, the caramel pieces stayed solid so it added a lovely crunch. The cake was divine. One of the best chocolate cakes I've tasted, so I have to share the recipe because that's the best thing to do when you find a yummy cake recipe.
Ingredients
For the sponge
175g butter, at room temperature
175g soft brown sugar
150g self-raising flour
25g cocoa powder
1tbsp baking powder
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 medium eggs
100ml sour cream
For the buttercream
175g of *salted caramel chocolate (broken into small pieces)
125g butter
4tbsp milk
200g icing sugar
* You could use any kind of chocolate for the buttercream so long as you use 175g of it.
To Decorate
I used mini eggs and chocolate buttons but you could use anything you liked. Fresh fruit such as strawberries would also work and give it a more grown-up look.
Equipment
You'll need two 20cm (8 inch) round cake tins, a couple of mixing bowls and a heatproof bowl for melting the chocolate.
Let's bake it!
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C or gas mark 3. Grease and line the cake tins with baking paper.
Add your sugar and butter to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Sift over the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add the eggs and sour cream and whisk until combined.
Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Leave the cakes too cool before removing from the cake tins and then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the icing, place the chocolate, butter and milk into the heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the ingredients have melted. Add in the icing sugar and beat with a whisk until smooth. Once the buttercream has cooled completely, beat it again until it forms soft peaks.
Sandwich the cake together with some of the buttercream and then cover the rest of the cake with the remaining buttercream. Decorate with whatever you have chosen. Grate some chocolate over the top.
Eat. Enjoy.
