Thursday 28 May 2009

Chocolate sponge with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream


You might have gathered from the title that this cake has a chocolate theme (not unlike the first Iron Cupcake London – plug, plug!). There could only be one flavour for the CCBF’s (Caked Crusader’s Boyfriend) birthday cake and it had to be chocolate. I came to this conclusion based on the fact that practically every dessert the CCBF ever selects contains chocolate in some shape or form. He also possesses an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Simpsons, so Krusty and Homer had to feature too!


I stoked up the chocolate sponge with some dark chocolate chips. The idea behind this was to add extra flavour and texture. I always like it when you get little pockets of chocolate in a sponge. The sponges were beautiful even before they acquired their cloak of buttercream:


I am rather proud of my decorations that I made for the top. They are plain chocolate discs, topped with a splodge of buttercream, topped with a Malteser (or Whoppers depending which side of the Atlantic you reside. I wish they were called Whoppers in the UK – I love the idea of going into a shop and asking the person behind the counter if they have whoppers!)


Just so you don’t expect such good quality photos every week I should point out that the photos in this post that look like they could be in a cookbook were taken by the CCBF, who knows his way around a camera and doesn’t randomly point and click like I do. That’s why he will be the official photographer at Iron Cupcake London.


Happy birthday CCBF!

Ingredients:
For the cake:
225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
175g self raising flour
50g cocoa powder, sifted
1-2 tablespoons milk
100g chocolate chips

For the Swiss meringue buttercream:
4 egg whites
250g caster sugar
250g unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

How to make:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
- Line two 20cm loose bottomed sandwich tins with baking paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Do not skimp on this stage as it’s the key to a lovely sponge.
- Gradually add the eggs, flour and cocoa powder until fully combined and you have a smooth, thick batter.
- If the batter is too stiff i.e. not dropping consistency, add two tablespoons of milk.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared tins. Level the surfaces.
- Bake for approx 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean. Mine took 35 minutes.
- Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tins before removing from the tins and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.
- The sponges can be made the day before and stored in airtight containers.
- Now make the swiss meringue buttercream. Place the egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir pretty much constantly to prevent the egg from cooking.
- After 5-10 minutes, when the sugar has dissolved (when you cannot see any crystals on the back of the spoon), remove the bowl from the pan of simmering water and whisk until the meringue has puffed up and the mix is cool.
- Add the butter and vanilla extract to the meringue and whisk until the butter has been completely incorporated into the meringue. At first it will look a disaster – it will collapse and look curdled but don’t worry! Stop when the mixture is smooth, light and fluffy.
- Place one sponge on the serving plate and top with a third of the buttercream.
- Place the second sponge on top and press down gently to ensure the buttercream has levelled out.
- Use the remaining buttercream to cover the top and sides.
- Decorate as required.
- Bask in glory at the wonderful thing you have made.
- Eat.

13 comments:

Nora said...

Wow! That looks amazing! The chocolate chips strike me as a stroke of genius, not to mention the Maltesers. (And good to know what to ask for if ever I get a Malteser craving on the other side of the Atlantic - I do like the sound of asking for a Whopper!)

trash said...

I could never ask for a whopper, it was the name of my brother's beloved teddy when we were children!

Happy Birthday (belatedly) to the CCBF!

J.L. Danger said...

you always make the most beautiful cakes!

Lisa said...

I make the hubster the same chocolate cake every year for his birthday as he's usually not too picky. This, however, is smashing, and I'm going to make it for him this year as he's a huge Simpsons fan, too. (Plus, I kinda sorta like him.)

You somehow always make me look good. :)

anudivya said...

You definitely should be proud of those decorations. As always beautiful.

pigpigscorner said...

That's so cute! I'm not brave enough to venture into cake decorations just yet.

Cakelaw said...

Happy Birthday to Dave (aka CCBF) - what a terrific looking cake.

Elyse said...

Um, yum! You did a fabulous job decorating this cake. I am so impressed. Not only does this cake look amazing, but the flavors going on here are just stellar. I love that you studded the chocolate sponge with chocolate chips. What a pleasant surprise! Sorry I've been away for the past week; I had a good friend in town and wasn't able to do much on the computer. I'm back now, though :)

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

What more could anyone possibly want for their birthday than that cake! It is amazing! I will definitely be coming here for a recipe, next time I think of making a birthday cake!

Caroline said...

The only thing I can say is; lucky CCBF!!! Actually, expand on that - the chocolate chips in the cake look fab and the icing looks great too. Love the decs!

Manila Real Estate said...

so cute.. The Simpson cake..

♥Rosie♥ said...

Happy belated birthday to CCBF. That cake is temptingly divine with all the chocolate I'd be in heaven - slurp

glamah16 said...

I think we have the same boyfrield! LOL.Simpson obsessed, loves chcolate, and a good photog.Hmmm. Seriously, that ccake looked perfect.