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Chocolate and burnt butterscotch layer cake

Name: Chocolate and burnt butterscotch layer cake
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Ingredients: dark chocolate 200g; butter 200g, cut into small pieces; instant coffee 1 tbsp mixed with 120ml water; eggs 3 medium; buttermilk 2 tbsp; self-raising flour 100g; plain flour 100g; bicarbonate of soda ¼ tsp; golden caster sugar 300g; cocoa powder 25g; golden caster sugar 200g; soft light brown sugar 100g; butter 90g; double cream 400ml; mascarpone 250ml; vanilla extract 1 tsp; Kahlúa or other coffee liqueur 1 tbsp

2 hours 15 minutes + cooling
serves 12
Easy

This deliciously indulgent, grown-up chocolate and burnt butterscotch cake looks really impressive and is definitely worth the effort

December 7, 2015 at 1:44 pm

Ingredients

dark chocolate 200g
butter 200g, cut into small pieces
instant coffee 1 tbsp mixed with 120ml water
eggs 3 medium
buttermilk 2 tbsp
self-raising flour 100g
plain flour 100g
bicarbonate of soda ¼ tsp
golden caster sugar 300g
cocoa powder 25g

BURNT BUTTERSCOTCH CREAM

golden caster sugar 200g
soft light brown sugar 100g
butter 90g
double cream 400ml
mascarpone 250ml
vanilla extract 1 tsp
Kahlúa or other coffee liqueur 1 tbsp

Method

Step 1

Butter and line the base of a 19cm x 7cm deep springform cake tin. Break the chocolate into a pan, add the butter and coffee mixture and warm through over a low heat until it melts together. Beat the eggs in a bowl until they slightly thicken, then stir in the buttermilk. Sift the flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and cocoa into another mixing bowl.
Step 2

Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Pour the chocolate and egg mixtures into the flour mixture, and stir until everything is mixed and smooth. Pour this into the prepared tin and bake for 1½ hours in the oven, or until a skewer pushed in comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut horizontally into three discs.
Step 3

For the butterscotch cream, melt the caster sugar in a small saucepan until it starts to caramelise, then leave a little longer until it starts to turn a ruby red colour. Watch it carefully – you don’t want it to burn. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the brown sugar and butter, followed by 100ml of the cream in a thin stream, while still whisking. Return to the heat and bring to a foamy boil for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved and there are no lumps. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
Step 4

Beat the remaining double cream with the vanilla extract and coffee liqueur to soft peak stage, then fold in the mascarpone and ¾ of the burnt butterscotch mixture.
Step 5

Spread each layer of cake with butterscotch cream and sandwich them together. Heat the remaining butterscotch really gently in a pan (or in the microwave) until it’s just runny enough to drizzle, but not too warm or the cream will melt.
Step 6

Top the cake with the reserved burnt butterscotch sauce, allowing some to fall down the sides.