Chocolate Christmas Cake

This Christmas I have made two special Christmas cakes using this recipe below. It has quickly become our family favourite. The one above, I made for the teachers at my son's school, as a thank you and well done for getting through a very long Autumn term.  The other one, I made for my own school's Festive Fair, for a 'Guess the Weight of the Cake' competition. (It was 3.7kg in case you were wondering!)

The same recipe for both cakes, but presented very differently. The bundt cake is topped with a simple icing sugar and water glaze, and then vanilla cookies on top (recipe for those here) and the triple layer has vanilla buttercream inside and around and a chocolate ganache drip on top. The biscuits on that are gingerbread (recipe found here).

In my opinion, it's worth making the biscuits too, as they are sooo delicious, and can be kept in airtight containers for a couple of weeks.

Chocolate Indulgence Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 cups self raising flour (300g)
2 cups caster sugar (460g)
3/4 cup cocoa (90g)
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda (baking soda)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coffee powder
1 cup milk (250ml)
1/2 cup sunflower oil (125ml)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (10ml)
1 cup boiling water (250ml)

For the frosting:
250 g softened butter
500g icing sugar
2 Tablespoons milk (30ml)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

For the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan (350F) and line the base and sides of two 20cm (8 inch) cake tins, or one bundt tin.
2. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, bi-carb soda, coffee powder and salt and mix together in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
3. Whisk together to combine fully.
4. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix on a medium speed until fully combined. Carefully add the boiling water, and mix on high speed for 1 minute to add air to the mixture.
5. Split the mixture evenly between the two cake tins and bake for 35-40 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Bake for 45 mins in the bundt tin.
6. Leave the cakes in the tins for 15 mins and then turn out into wire racks to cool fully.
7. To get a flat top on the cake, once it is out of the oven, using your whole palm, press very gently on a clean tea towel on the top of the cake, and this slowly flattens it and saves you having to trim.

For the frosting:
1. Mix the butter, vanilla and icing sugar in a large bowl until the buttercream is silky. Add the milk to loosen it up.
2. Use some of the buttercream between the cake layers and then do a layer to crumb coat the cake. Chill in the fridge for 30 mins or until set.
3. Add another layer of the buttercream to the cake, smoothing the sides.
4. Decorate as you wish. I added a ganache drip and then put the biscuits on top.

It's a very indulgent cake, but for a chocolate lover, perfect!