A fun birthday cake for children, this crunchy chocolate delight requires two 18cm sandwich cake tins and a bag of Maltesers – so best to hide them before baking, as they won’t last long otherwise! Don’t worry if the cakes crack a little on the surface, as they will be covered with the chocolate icing anyway.
print
Ingredients
- 250g self raising flour
- 250g soft brown sugar
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 250 g plain chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
- 250g butter
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- For the icing: 400g plain or milk chocolate
- 284ml pot single cream
- 25g butter
- 100-200g icing sugar
- 175g pouch of Maltesers
- You will need 2 x 18cm sandwich cake tins
Method
- Heat the oven 160ºC conventional (shelf below centre), fan oven 150ºC, gas mark 3 (centre shelf). Base line the cake tins with greaseproof paper.
- Sieve the flour, sugar and cocoa into a bowl.
- Melt the chocolate and butter with 200ml of water in a pan, gently.
- Add to the flour with the eggs. Mix well.
- Pour into the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. They may crack a little on the surface.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tins and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool fully.
- To make the icing: melt the chocolate with the cream and butter until smooth. Allow to cool until it is spreadable and beat in enough icing sugar to make the mixture stiff.
