Chocolate Cake with Malted Buttercream
It’s time to reward yourself for taking the UK Savings Week Challenge.
Great British Bake Off’s Benjamina Ebuehi shares her reward for those taking the UK Savings Week Challenge.
Benji says: “Congrats on taking the UK Savings Week Challenge!
The key with forming any habit is making it realistic and achievable, but rewarding yourself is just as important.
So, here is my chocolate cake and malted buttercream recipe. It is a beautifully soft and rich chocolate cake that’s really easy to make and perfect for an afternoon pick me up. The malted buttercream is a favourite of mine and brings a warming nostalgic vibe that I love.”
Serves 8-10
Chocolate Cake:
160g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
130ml vegetable oil
100g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
120g plain yoghurt
2 large eggs
75ml hot coffee
Buttercream:
180g unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp malted milk powder (e.g Horlicks)
130g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
1 Tablespoon hot water
Toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Blackberries, to decorate
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Grease and line an 8 inch/20cm cake tin.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
In a separate jug, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs and coffee. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well until smooth. Stir in the yoghurt to get a smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the buttercream, add the softened butter to a bowl and use a stand mixer or electric whisk to beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add in the malted milk powder and a pinch of salt and beat to combine.
Add in the icing sugar in two batches, beating well on high speed to get a thick fluffy, buttercream. Mix in the vanilla followed by the hot water.
To decorate, spoon the buttercream on top of the cake and use the back of a spoon or a palette knife to create swoops and swirls. Top with some chopped hazelnuts and blackberries to serve.
