Bake-off challenge for charity

Friday at work we had a departmental bake-off challenge to help raise money for the Cancer Council. It was organised for Marketing, HR, IT and Payroll to bake-off against each other for the chance to be crowned Master Chef. We had a few weeks to prepare, so there was some healthy competitor gloating. With a few people boasting that they would be a contender for the crown, I took it upon myself to really show off and make something that would look and taste AMAZING! I asked for a bit of advice from people at work. The lady from HR who set the challenge said in her experience, chocolate always comes out on top. Then I asked my friend, who just yelled SALTED CARAMEL. She has a sort of salted caramel turrets. I took both these bits of feedback on board and knew what I had to make - Double Chocolate Layer Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream and Ganache. And guess what??? It was a winner!!! After the other departments have their battles, the winner from each area will bake-off against each other to determine the company's Master Chef. Might need to start my research for that one - will need to be spectacular!

My trophy

Double Chocolate Layer Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream

Adapted from Miette Cookbook and the recipe from Sweetapolita

Double Chocolate Cake

215g plain flour

125g cocoa powder

1.5 tsp bicarb soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

60g dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup boiling water

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil

425g caster sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and liberally butter then dust (with cocoa powder) 2 round cake tins.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, pour the boiling water over the chopped chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has completely melted. Set aside to cool. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk and vanilla together and set aside.

In a clean bowl, whisk the eggs together until foamy. Reduce the beater to low and add the oil, beat until combined. Slowly pour the chocolate and buttermilk mixtures into the eggs and whisk until combined. The mixture will be very liquidy. Pour the dry ingredients into the liquid and beat on low until just combined. The Miette recipe recommends you sieve the mixture before separating into the two tins. I generally skip that step though as I don't have a big enough sieve. Separate the mix into the two tins and pop in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. When ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for about 20 minutes, then remove from tins and rest on a wire rack until completely cool. Wrap in cling wrap and pop in the fridge for about an hour to ensure the middle of the cakes are completely cool. Something to note about these cakes - they are moist! Each time I have made this cake, I've done the skewer test before removing it from the oven. The skewer comes out clean however the middle of the cake has still been a little under done. So make sure the cake looks cooked and possibly use a wooden skewer instead of a knife.

Salted Caramel

1 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup heavy cream

Pinch sea salt

In a large saucepan over a medium heat, pour the sugar and water. Bring to boil. Using a pastry brush, brush down the sides so ensure no crystallisation occurs. Give the pan a stir using the handle to make sure the heat is consistent. Watch the liquid closely. Remove from heat when it turns a medium amber colour. Immediately pour in the cream and whisk until combined. Be careful, as it might splatter and is extremely hot. When smooth, cover with cling wrap and set aside to cool.

Buttercream

1 cup caster sugar

1 tablespoon water

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

350g butter

3tbs salted caramel

Pour the sugar and water into a saucepan and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes (sugar should dissolve and the liquid start to slowly boil). Just before the syrup is ready, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until you get soft peaks. Slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites and beat on high until the mixture returns to room temperature (about 10 minutes). When the egg mix (aka meringue) is thick and glossy (and cool to the touch), drop the butter in, one tablespoon at a time. Make sure each tablespoon of butter is fully mixed before dropping in the next. The mix might look curdled towards the end, however increase the beater to high and the buttercream will become thick and creamy. Add the salted caramel and beat until combined. Use immediately or store in an air-tight container in the fridge until use. 

Ganache

285g dark chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup icing sugar

3/4 cup thickened cream

2 large egg yolks

3 tbs butter, at room temperature

Add the chopped chocolate and sugar to a heat proof bowl. In a saucepan over a low to medium heat, pour the cream until just before it bowls. Pour hot cream over chocolate and sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves. Over a saucepan of simmering water, place the bowl (make sure the base of the bowl is not touching the water in the pan) and whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk the egg yolks together. Pour 1/2 cup of the chocolate into the egg yolks and whisk until combined, then pour the egg mix back into the chocolate bowl and whisk all together until combined. Add the butter and whisk until melted. Cover and leave at room temperature until ready for cake assembly

Assembly

Using a sharp knife, cut the two cakes through the middle to create four layers (as one of my cakes was a bit soft in the middle, I only used three layers). Place the bottom layer on the presentation plate and spoon 2/3 of the buttercream, spread over the layer leaving about 2 cms from the edge. Place the second layer on top and lightly press down to ensure the layer is even then top with the remaining layers. With the remaining buttercream, go around the sides of the cake and fill in any gaps.  until you get to the final layer (do not put chocolate on the top of the cake). Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and using a flat knife, spread around the sides and over the top. With any remaining salted caramel, use a fork and shake some caramel over the top of the cake. Serve at room temperature and ENJOY!