Chocolate “Occasion” Cake

Hi folks BBC2 here, I do hope you are all well and dealing with the change in the weather! As BBC1 told you, we had a good weekend trying out new and old recipes in preparation for a visit from friends Sarah and her husband Anthony. With this visit in mind I thought I’d play with a few recipes and give a twist on a marbled sponge cake. This was the end result and I must say it is a very rich cake and Sarah said, very kindly, that it was the sort of cake that you have on special occasions. Because of one of the ingredients I was going to call it Maltese Chocolate Cake, but now it’s Chocolate “Occasion” Cake, in honour of Sarah. I hope you give it a try, as we would love to get your feedback on this, it not hard to make.

Ingredients for Cake:
225g/ 8oz softened unsalted butter
225g/ 8oz caster sugar
4 eggs
225g/ 8oz self-raising flour
2 level tsp baking powder
125g/ 4oz Maltesers* (lightly dusted in flour)
1 ½ level Tbs cocoa powder
1 ½ Tbs hot water

Ingredients for Icing
150g/ 5oz plain chocolate (39 per cent cocoa solids)
2 Tbs water
100g/ 4oz unsalted butter
50g/ 2oz milk chocolate
50g/ 2 oz white chocolate

Method:
Pre-heat the oven 160c fan. Grease and dust with flour a 3 pint cake ring or tin (I also put strips of greased baking parchment in to help release from tin once cooked – see photo)

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl or food mixer until you have a light fluffy mix, then add the eggs one at a time ensuring each egg has been incorporated before adding the next. Now add the self-raising flour and baking powder and beat the mixture until it’s all incorporated together, now take a tablespoon and dot half the mixture around the bottom of the tin, you can leave little gaps. Next, in a small bowl mix the cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of water and mix them together then add to the remaining half of the sponge mixture in the other bowl and beat together until incorporated. Now fold in half the Maltesers and dot the other half of them into the plain mixture in the cake tin. Now spoon the chocolate mixture into the gaps in the cake tin and using a flat bladed knife give the mixture a swirl to give the cake a marbled effect while ensuring the cake mixture is even and there are no gaps.

Place in the oven for 40 minutes or until the cake is well risen and springs back when lightly pressed, leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

When the cake is cold leave on the wire rack and place over a baking tray or board/plate – this to catch the icing and save on mess! Make the dark chocolate icing by melting the dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water on a low heat heat (don’t allow the bowl to touch the water) add the butter and water then leave to melt, occasionally stirring it until it has all melted, now spoon the over the cake allowing it to run over the cake and ensuring it is all covered and leave to set at room temperature.

When the dark chocolate icing has set, melt the milk chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering, as before, or in a microwave proof bowl giving it 10 seconds blasts at full power and stirring until melted and runny, now using a spoon drizzle it over the dark chocolate icing trying to make it a bit abstract or Jackson Pollock like! Leave to set for 5 minutes, then do the same with the white chocolate leave to completely set for 30 minutes. Then enjoy with friends and family!

BBC1: *Just in case they’re not called Maltesers where you live; they are small round pieces of malt honeycomb covered in milk chocolate. I must say that this cake looks great and is as tasty as it looks. Shame our lack of photography skills do not do it justice! It’s rich and chocolatety, light and spongy and with the added texture and chewiness of the melted sweeties! Well done BBC2!