Preheat the oven to 180°C, (fan 160°C, gas mark 4) and grease and line two 20cm round cake tins with baking paper.
Step 2:
Melt the chocolate, butter and milk together in a small pan on a medium heat. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool completely.
Step 3:
Add the sugar, vanilla and eggs and whisk until well combined. Then fold in the flour and baking powder. Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until golden and springy to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes, before turning out to cool completely.
Step 4:
For the icing, place the chocolate, cream and vanilla in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, (not allowing the bowl to come into contact with the water), stirring until melted and smooth.
Step 5:
Remove the bowl from the heat, set aside to cool, then cover with cling film before placing in the fridge to chill for 1 ½ hours or until it reaches a thick, spreadable consistency (occasionally stirring if possible).
Step 6:
Divide the icing into three portions (1 portion for the filling, and remaining 2 to ice the cake) and use immediately.
Step 7:
To assemble the cake, trim the top of the cooled cakes to level, then slice each in half horizontally. Place one half on a plate or stand, and spread with one third of the ganache filling, then top with 2 tablespoons of jam. Repeat this method with the remaining sponge halves.
Step 8:
Using a palette knife, spread the rest of the icing over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate the cake with raspberries and shavings of white chocolate as you wish.
Ingredients
MetricImperial
For the Sponge
400gWhite chocolate (plus extra to decorate)
300gUnsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
300mlWhole milk
2 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
300gBillington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
4Large free range egg(s) (lightly beaten)
450gPlain white flour
3 tspBaking powder
For the Icing
750gWhite chocolate (chopped)
1 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
250mlSingle cream
For the Decoration
150gRaspberry jam
100gRaspberries (fresh or freeze dried)
Utensils
2x 20cm round cake tins
Baking parchment
Small saucepan
Wire cooling rack
Spatula
Cling film
Palette knife
Recipe Reviews
Tried making this today for my daughter’s 21st Birthday. Despite following the recipe instructions it is a COMPLETE DISASTER!! The icing is far too runny (mentioned before).and the sponge just falls apart leaving a complete mess before the cake can even be finished!!! Extremely frustrating, very disappointing and a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME!!!
Easy to follow recipe ❤️
Rating as a five star just because the last person rated one star just for the sake of asking a question and that's just unfair.
I would like to make this cake for my son's graduation party. Are the cake tins ordinary or deep ones and does melting the chocolate and butter make a different kind of sponge? ________________________________________________ We would recommend using deep cake tins for this recipe, so that when you halve the cakes after cooling they have a good height.
Melting the chocolate and butter is just a different technique to make the sponge, it won't affect the outcome to a standard sponge.