Mary Berry Chocolate Cornflake Cakes Food

COOKING WITH KIDS: CHOCOLATE CORNFLAKE CAKES

Steps:

• Children: Weigh out the ingredients. Older children can do this by themselves with supervision and little ones can help to pour or spoon ingredients into the weighing scales. Put 50g butter, 100g milk or dark chocolate, broken into chunks and 3 tbsp golden syrup in a saucepan or microwavable bowl. Put 100g cornflakes in another large bowl.
• Grown ups: Melt the weighed butter, chocolate and golden syrup in the saucepan over a low heat or briefly in the microwave. Allow to cool a little before pouring over the cornflakes.
• Children: Stir the ingredients together gently using a wooden spoon. Spoon the mixture into 12 cupcake cases arranged on a muffin tray (or baking sheet, if you don't have one). Grown ups will need to do this for younger children or simply arrange on a tray and let the mess happen. Put in the fridge to set.

MARY'S CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Lightly butter two loose-bottomed 20cm/8in sandwich tins and line the bases with baking paper.
• Put the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and cocoa in a large bowl and beat for 2 minutes, or until just blended. (An electric mixer is best for this, but you can also beat by hand using a wooden spoon.)
• Divide the mixture evenly between the tins. Level the surface using a spatula or the back of a spoon.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes. The tops of the cakes should spring back when pressed lightly with a finger. Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 5 minutes. Run a small palette knife around the edge of the tins, then carefully turn the cakes out onto a wire rack. Peel off the paper and leave to cool completely.
• Choose the cake with the best top, then put the other cake top-down onto a serving plate. Spread with the jam and whipped cream, put the other cake on top (top upwards) and sprinkle with caster sugar to serve.

MARY BERRY'S CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C, gas 4. Beat together the eggs, flour, caster sugar, butter, and baking powder until smooth in a large mixing bowl.
• Put the cocoa powder in a separate mixing bowl, and add the water a little at a time to make a stiff paste. Add to the cake mixture.
• Turn into the prepared tins, level the top, and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 mins, or until shrinking away from the sides of the tin and springy to the touch.
• Leave to cool in the tin, then turn on to a wire rack to become completely cold before icing.
• To make the icing: measure the cream and chocolate into a bowl and carefully melt over a pan of hot water over a low heat, or gently in the microwave for 1 min (600w microwave). Stir until melted, then set aside to cool a little and to thicken up.
• To ice the cake: spread the apricot jam on the top of each cake. Spread half of the ganache icing on the top of the jam on one of the cakes, then lay the other cake on top, sandwiching them together.
• Use the remaining ganache icing to ice the top of the cake in a swirl pattern. Dust with icing sugar to serve.