I'm a big fan of baking cakes for no real reason.
Whether it's for a fancy pants birthday party or a good old fashioned family knee's up, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll arrive with an edible plus one.
My guest of choice tends to be my Ultimate Triple Chocolate Cake.
Incredibly naughty but surprisingly light, this ganache drenched creation can be whipped up for any occasion, either served with a simple dusting of icing sugar, a handful of mixed berries or jazzed up to within an inch of its life.
Christmas has given me the perfect excuse to turn it into a real 'snow'stopper!
Meet Frosty. He's looking rather regal on top of those Malteser snowballs, isn't he?
As far as I'm concerned, Christmas pudding is the devils handiwork. I'll be serving my alternative up on Christmas day with a pot of tea in front of the fire. To make yours, you'll need:
For the cake:
2 x free range eggs
225g plain flour
350g caster sugar
85g cocoa powder
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
250ml milk
250ml boiling water
125ml vegetable oil
2 x tsp vanilla extract
For the ganache and decoration:
200g plain chocolate
200ml double cream
300g Maltesers
1 x festive snowman (I got mine from Sainsburys, but feel free to make your own)
First up, preheat your oven to 180 degrees and chuck all of your cake ingredients apart from the boiling water into a bowl.
Give it a good stir until it's combined and smooth.
Little by little, pour in the boiling water. You'll be left with a very thin batter but don't be alarmed. This cake is super moist and fudgy and this is mostly down to the vegetable oil. It might seem strange, but trust me on this one. It works.
Divide the mixture between two greased cake tins and pop them in the oven for 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven. You'll know they're ready when you can poke them with a skewer and it comes back out clean. If it's still covered in chocolate goo, immediately lick it off and give your cakes another five minutes or so.
Once they're good 'n' baked, leave your cakes to cool. In the meantime, make your chocolate ganache. Ganache is basically a posh term for 'rich, decadent chocolate cream' and provides just as much pleasure a girl can possibly get without taking her clothes off.
Break up your chocolate and melt it in a saucepan over a low heat. Carefully add your cream and keep stirring until your mixture turns thick and glossy.
It will need a good two hours in the fridge before you can spread it over your cakes, so if you're baking in a rush, make your ganache first to speed things up a little bit.
Once your cakes are completely cooled and your ganache is nice and spreadable, drizzle a thin layer on the top of one cake, spread it out to the sides and pop the second on top,
Then get spreadin'. If you're leaving your cake plain, try to make the icing look as smooth as possible. If you're loading it with Malteser's and sugary snowmen, however, dollop it all over and pour yourself another Baileys. Just remember to save a few spoonfuls of your mixture to use as 'glue' for your decorations.
Get to work with the Maltesers as soon as possible. This can be very fiddly business, but it's totally worth it. I tend to fix the top of the cake before moving onto the sides, but be prepared for an avalanche at any time. These are real snowballs, after all. You've got to get your cake into the fridge as soon as possible, so quickly tuck it away into its frosty cave and leave it there until set.
When it emerges from it's igloo, stand back and admire your creation. Name your jolly little snowman and exclaim at the top of your lungs "snow-ly mother of Jesus, it's Christmas!"
And of course, don't forget a sprinkle of festive snow!
I've only got two more days at work before the holidays begin. It's coming, folks! Christmas is coming...
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