Chocolate Drip Cake Food

MALTED CHOCOLATE DRIP CAKE

Steps:

• First make the malt sponges. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the bases of 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking parchment. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well between each addition. Tip the flour, malt and baking powder into the bowl with ¼ tsp salt and fold together, then add the yogurt and vanilla, and give everything a final stir. Divide the cake mixture between the 2 tins, level the tops and bake on the middle shelf for 25-30 mins or until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins, then remove from the tins, peel off the baking parchment and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Wash the tins.
• Now make the chocolate sponges. Grease and line the base of the tins as before and boil the kettle. In the same bowl (don't worry about washing it), cream the butter and sugar as before, adding the eggs, one at a time, and mixing until combined. Sift in the flour, cocoa and baking powder with ¼ tsp salt. Fold the mixture together, then add the yogurt, melted chocolate and 100ml boiling water. Stir until combined, then divide between the tins. Bake for 25-30 mins, testing with a skewer as before. Cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out, remove the baking parchment and cool completely. The sponges can be made up to 2 days before being iced, cooled and wrapped tightly in cling film.
• Make the honeycomb. Grease a baking tray with a little butter or oil. Put the sugar and golden syrup in a large pan. Warm over a medium heat and leave to bubble to a liquid caramel, but don't stir. When you're happy with the colour (the darker it gets, the more intense the flavour will be), add the bicarbonate of soda and quickly stir into the syrup. Before the bubbles die down, pour the foaming mixture onto the baking tray, then set aside for 30 mins to cool and firm up.
• Make the icing. In your largest mixing bowl, beat the butter with half the icing sugar, the malt and vanilla until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and the cream cheese, and beat again until well combined - don't overmix or the icing may become runny.
• You're now ready to assemble. Put one of the sponges on a cake stand or cake board, sticking it down with a small blob of icing. Use ¼ of the icing to stack the cakes, alternating between the malt and chocolate sponges. Place the final sponge on top, flat-side up. When assembled, use a palette knife to cover the entire cake with a thin layer of the icing, filling any gaps between sponges, but don't worry about completely covering the sponges at this stage. This is called a crumb coat and ensures that your final layer is crumb-free. Make space in your fridge and chill the cake for 30 mins to firm up the icing.
• Once the icing is chilled, use the remaining icing to completely cover the cake. This is easiest if you pile the icing on top of the cake, then use a palette knife to ease it over the edge and down the sides. You can make it as smooth or as rough as you like. Chill for another 30 mins.
• Make the drizzle. Meanwhile, put the dark chocolate in a bowl and heat the cream in a small pan until just steaming. Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave to melt for 5-10 mins. Stir to make a glossy ganache, then set aside to firm up a little - you want the ganache to be pourable but not too runny, to make drizzly droplets down the side of the cake.
• When the ganache is the correct consistency, remove the cake from the fridge and spoon the ganache over the top edge of the cake, encouraging it to drizzle down the side with your spoon - start at the back of the cake to get the hang of it. Fill in the middle of the top of the cake with chocolate too.
• Break the honeycomb into tall shards and stack them on top of the cake. Finish with whole and halved Maltesers, adding a few around the base, along with some honeycomb crumbs. The cake is best served within 2-3 hrs of assembling, but will still taste delicious for up to 3 days. Store leftovers in the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature before serving.

DARK CHOCOLATE CHERRY LOAF CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment, allowing it to hang over the sides. Spray the parchment with baking spray and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, milk, melted butter and eggs until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Add the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Place the loaf pan on a sheet pan and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing it from the cake pan, then allow the cake to cool completely, about an hour.
• For the cherry glaze: Mix the powdered sugar, preserves and milk until thoroughly combined; it should be thick but pourable. Add the food coloring and mix through. Pour the icing over the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle over the mini chocolate chips. Slice and serve.

S'MORES DRIP CAKE

Steps:

• Make 3 layers of chocolate cake, following package instructions for 8-inch cake pans. Let cool completely before using a serrated knife to remove any domed tops before frosting.
• For the buttercream:.
• In a medium bowl, beat the butter and shortening together until completely smooth, creamy and well-mixed.
• Add the marshmallow cream, salt and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
• Add the powdered sugar in 3 to 4 batches, to avoid making a mess, stirring well between additions. Mix in the milk a tablespoon at a time until you get a soft, spreadable frosting.
• Remove 2/3 cup of frosting and place into a small bowl. Mix the cocoa powder into this frosting then scoop into a disposable piping bag and set aside.
• To the remaining frosting the medium bowl, add 6 tablespoons of the graham cracker crumbs and stir through to combine. Reserve the remaining 2 tablespoons of graham cracker crumbs for garnish.
• To make the meringue:.
• Fill a medium pot with 2-inch depth of water and place over a medium-low heat on the stove. Set a large, heatproof bowl over the pot. Add the egg whites and sugar to the large bowl and stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved (the mixture shouldn't feel gritty when you rub some between your fingertips) and registers 160 degrees F on a thermometer.
• Remove the bowl from the pan and use electric beaters to whisk until cool, very fluffy and thickened - you should be able to lift up the beaters and form stiff peaks in the mixture which do not sink back into the meringue.
• To make the ganache:.
• Place the chocolate chips into a medium bowl.
• Heat the heavy cream in a small pot over a medium heat until steaming. Pour this over the chocolate in the bowl and let sit for 5 minutes so the chocolate can melt. Only then, stir together until smooth. Let cool for 10-20 minutes at room temperature until slightly thickened. Transfer the ganache to a disposable piping bag.
• Assembly:.
• Place a dab of graham cracker buttercream onto a cake board or serving plate and place on the first cake layer to secure it to the board.
• Scoop roughly 1/3 cup of graham cracker buttercream onto the layer and spread it out into an even layer over the top of the cake layer. Top with the second cake layer and spread on another ~1/3 cup of graham cracker frosting. Top with the final cake layer and spread another ~1/3 cup of frosting over the top of the cake.
• Transfer the remaining graham cracker buttercream to a piping bag.
• Snip the tips off the piping bags containing the chocolate and graham cracker buttercreams - you want the holes to be about 1 inch wide.
• Pipe alternating horizontal rings of chocolate and graham cracker buttercream around the outer sides of the cake to create a stripy effect around the cake. Use a flat cake scraper (or a metal bench scraper or palette knife) to smooth the buttercream on the outside of the cake into an even, smooth layer - it's helpful to use a revolving cake turntable here as you can spin the cake with one hand very easily as you hold the cake scraper straight against the edge of the cake.
• Snip the tip off the piping bag containing the warm chocolate ganache. Pipe ganache around the top edge of the cake, allowing it to drip down the cake in vertical drips. Use the remaining ganache to cover the top of the cake, using an offset spatula if needed to spread into an even layer. Let set (you can chill in the fridge to speed this up) until the ganache is set.
• Once the ganache has set, scoop the meringue from the bowl onto the top of the cake. Make dramatic dips, peaks and waves in the meringue. Use a kitchen blowtorch to lightly toast the meringue all over.
• Press the reserved graham cracker crumbs over the bottom edge of the cake.
• Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE DRIP CAKE

Steps:

• Butter three 20cm round cake tins and line with non-stick baking paper. Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and smooth. Gradually beat in the eggs until combined, then mix in the vanilla. Fold in the flour and baking powder until everything is combined. Stir in the milk to loosen.
• Bake the sponges for 20 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the Swiss meringue buttercream. Put the egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl over a small pan of gently simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Whisk for 3-4 mins until the sugar dissolves. Put into an electric mixer and whisk for 10 mins over a medium-high speed until you have a thick meringue.
• Gradually add the butter into the meringue mixture for 5 mins until incorporated and the buttercream is fluffy.
• Put one sponge onto a plate or cake stand, top it with a few tablespoons of the buttercream and spread into an even layer. Add the next sponge, and repeat. Top with the final sponge.
• Smooth a thin layer of the buttercream around the cake, so all the sides are coated - this is called a crumb coat. Chill in the fridge for 45 mins. Remove and smooth a thick layer of the remaining buttercream around the cake using a palette knife, reserving a little for decoration. Put back in the fridge for 45 mins-1 hr to set.
• Meanwhile, make the ganache. Put the dark chocolate in a bowl and heat the cream in a small pan until just steaming. Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave to melt for 5-10 mins. Stir to make a glossy ganache, then set aside to firm up a little - you want it to be pourable but not too runny. Spoon the ganache over the top edge of the cake, encouraging it to drizzle down the side with your spoon - start at the back of the cake to get the hang of it. Fill in the middle of the top of the cake with chocolate too. Leave to set for 10 mins.
• To decorate, put the leftover buttercream in a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe little dots on top of the cake. Decorate as you like, remove any flowers before eating.