Double-the-love chocolate cake

A simple white chocolate buttercream looks great when it’s swirled over this gorgeous wedding cake – however roughly you do it

Recipe uploaded by

Sarah Cook

5 ratings 5

Recipe by Sarah Cook

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Tested

Difficulty and servings

Serves 25

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 2 hrs

Cook 1 hr 50 mins

plus cooling

Freeze un-iced sponges only

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base and sides of deep, round 20cm and 15cm cake tins with baking parchment - making sure the paper comes a few cms above the sides.
Boil the kettle. Put half the butter and chocolate in a pan and gently melt, stirring. Mix together half of the flour, sugar, cocoa and bicarb with a pinch of salt. Whisk 2 of the eggs and 200ml buttermilk together. Scrape the melted chocolate mixture and egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Add 150ml boiling water and whizz everything together with an electric whisk until lump-free. Divide between the tins and bake for 40-45 mins, swapping round after 30 mins if they're on different shelves (the 15cm one should be done after 40 mins). To test they're cooked, push in a skewer and check it comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their tins.
Repeat steps 1 and 2 again, so you end up with 2 x 20cm cakes and 2 x 15cm cakes.
Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat together the butter and icing sugar, then beat in the white chocolate. When the cakes are cool, split each one in half. Use the icing to sandwich back together so you end up with 2 x four-layered cakes. Sit the 20cm cake on your serving plate and spread some more icing over the top. Sit the smaller cake on top of that, and completely cover with icing. Decorate with the chocolate buttons.
If you want to add some flowers choose something edible, like roses. Make a posy, wrapping the stems in a little damp kitchen paper then some cling film, add a ribbon and add to the cake on the day of the wedding.

ICE IT

The buttercream will be fine in the fridge for up to a week, just bring it back to room temperature before using it so that it is soft enough to spread.

STORE IT

Once iced, the cakes will be fine for 24 hours in a cool-ish place, but not the fridge. The un-iced cakes will still taste great after two days, so if you don't have room in your freezer you can still start baking a couple of days before the wedding and ice the day before. Then all you have to do on the big day is poke in some flowers, if you like.

FREEZE IT

The un-iced, un-cut cakes can be well-wrapped in cling film and frozen for up to a month (just defrost overnight at room temperature before decorating).

PER SERVING

729 kcalories, protein 7g, carbohydrate 83g, fat 43 g, saturated fat 26g, fibre 2g, sugar 60g, salt 0.79 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2011.

Latest comments and suggestions

Sweetheart

21 April 2011

Sweetheart commented on this recipe

looks BBBrrrrilliant

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Sweetheart

21 April 2011

Sweetheart rated this recipe

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williment

30 April 2011

williment rated and commented on this recipe

My daughter's birthday was on the day of the Royal wedding so this was the perfect cake to make. It was easy to make, looked impressive and tasted delicious. The sponge was lovely and moist.

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lollypop

10 July 2011

lollypop commented on this recipe

Hi can anyone tell me hoe to scale this recipe to make 1 25cm cake

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cowen84

02 October 2011

cowen84 rated and commented on this recipe

made this for my mums 60th. have to say that buttercream and 28 degree weather do not mix - it kind of collapsed!! absolutely delicious, but have to say that this would serve 50 rather than 25 as it is so rich you dont need a big serving - we ate 1/3 between 18 of us!!

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lucy_painter

13 January 2012

lucy_painter rated and commented on this recipe

Loved this cake! I made it for a street party for the royal wedding it went down very well and I agree with the comment made about it being very rich! But delish.

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lucy_painter

13 January 2012

lucy_painter commented on this recipe

Loved this cake! I made it for a street party for the royal wedding it went down very well and I agree with the comment made about it being very rich! But delish.

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sunhat22

09 February 2012

sunhat22 commented on this recipe

making it for my son's birthday!! very panicked!!!

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victoria

12 February 2012

victoria commented on this recipe

I made this for my housemate's birthday and it went down really well! Rave reviews :)

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kittykat

12 February 2012

kittykat commented on this recipe

HELP!!!!! Am making this for my best friend's Mum's 70th bday party a week today. Have just done a trial run, but have ended up with the crumb from the cake all in my beautiful cream icing! I did wash the pallet knife in between sandwiching the cakes together and decorating the outside. Where have I gone wrong?

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CK1

17 February 2012

CK1 commented on this recipe

Does anyone have any tips for transporting this cake? Am making it for my son's christening and while we haven't got to take it far am slightly nervous it will get wrecked in transit!

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welsh lass

18 April 2012

welsh lass rated and commented on this recipe

Used part of this recipe for a single tier cake. I concentrated on having a flat top and very square finish. I would recommend to others that the icing be popped into the fridge before using. You have to do a crumb coat first which is a thin coat of icing to cover the crumbs and cover the big gaps, pop cake into freezer to set the layers then build another layer making sure any surplus icing hasnt any crumbs on it. If it has then discard that bit in bin. I did 3 layers to achieve a fine finish. I used milk chocolate buttons. If transporting then you can use two cake bases and place on top of each other on site - using a ribbon to cover the cake base if using the thicker type. To scale recipe for different sizes google Lindys cakes and there is a chart on there.

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Ingredients

400g butter
200g plain chocolate
700g plain flour
800g caster sugar
100g cocoa
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 large eggs
400ml buttermilk

TO ASSEMBLE

2 x 200g bars white chocolate
550g softened butter
550g icing sugar
2-3 x 80g bags white chocolate buttons , flowers and ribbons, optional

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Profiteroles with white & dark chocolate filling

A pudding with a surprise - half and half white and dark chocolate inside

8 ratings

Difficulty and servings

Serves 25

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 2 hrs

Cook 1 hr 50 mins

plus cooling

Freeze un-iced sponges only

Ingredients

400g butter
200g plain chocolate
700g plain flour
800g caster sugar
100g cocoa
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 large eggs
400ml buttermilk

TO ASSEMBLE

2 x 200g bars white chocolate
550g softened butter
550g icing sugar
2-3 x 80g bags white chocolate buttons , flowers and ribbons, optional

PER SERVING

729 kcalories, protein 7g, carbohydrate 83g, fat 43 g, saturated fat 26g, fibre 2g, sugar 60g, salt 0.79 g

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