Chocolate Birthday Cake
Credit Image: Muminthemadhouse
Is there anything as theraputic as baking, when it all works out? When you are left on your own in the kitchen to make something that turns out well. And the feel good factor when it all gets eaten. I'm far from an expert but i just find it theraputic.
Last weekend I was given an hour on my own to whip together a birthday cake (there may have been a massive clean up afterwards though).
This chocolate one was for my first born's 9th birthday as per her request. I find kid's birthday cakes hard to avoid waste, and they mostly only want the icing or sprinkles, but not the actual cake.
I found this recipe on Mum in the Mad House's blog and it is a simple crowd pleasing birthday cake. Here is the link https://www.muminthemadhouse.com/simple-kids-birthday-cake. I made a couple of small changes to the original recipe.
Ingredients
250g butter
250g caster sugar
4 eggs, large
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g self-raising flour
50g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
Frosting
150g butter
300g icing sugar
35g cocoa powder
Decorations
250ml double cream
3 packets of Cadbury's chocolate finger biscuits
4 packets of smarties
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 160c (fan)/180c/Gas Mark 4.
Grease a 7” cake tin well and line the base with a piece of non-stick baking paper.
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly mix in the combined dry ingredients until the cake mixture is even and well combined.
Transfer the mixture to the tin and bake in the oven for 50 minutes until springy to the touch and a skewer when inserted into the centre comes away clean.
Place the cake onto a wire rack and allow to cool fully.
Beat together the frosting ingredients until well mixed and light and fluffy. Beat the cream until it doesn't spill, but isn't too solid.
Slice the cooled cake in half to make two cakes. Place the firstcake onto a serving plate and cover with the cream. Place the second cake on top. Then cover in the frosting.
To decorate fill the sides with chocolate finger biscuits, cutting them down to size if necessary. (Mine went a bit sidewards as I could have done with 3 or 4 more chocolate fingers). Scatter the top of the cake with smarties.
