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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

Published: December 7, 2015 at 1:44 pm

Bake this chocolate butterscotch cake, then check out our chocolate fudge cake, easy chocolate cake, chocolate Guinness cake and more indulgent chocolate cake recipes.

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.