Recipe: Gravity-defying chocolate cake

INGREDIENTS

200g unsalted softened butter

250g caster sugar

1 tbsp instant coffee

180ml boiling water

170g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

50g ground almonds

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

100ml buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:

300g softened salted butter

600g icing sugar

2-3 tbsp milk

200g dark chocolate, melted

For the ganache:

200ml double cream

200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

For the decoration:

Chocolate sprinkles

Mini chocolate eggs

1 large chocolate egg

For the utensils:

3 x 8” round baking tins

Anti-gravity plastic tube

Allergens are marked in bold

In a bowl, whisk the butter and sugar for two minutes until smooth and creamy. In a jug, mix the coffee and boiling water and then the buttermilk and mix through. Now, add the eggs to the butter and sugar and whisk for a couple of minutes.

In another bowl, sieve all the dry ingredients together.

Next, add half the liquid and halve the dry ingredients to the egg mixture with the vanilla extract and whisk until combined. Now, add the rest of the liquid and dry ingredients and whisk for a minute or two until smooth and creamy.

Divide this equally into the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 minutes at 160 °C CircoTherm® until baked and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave them aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Cream the butter for a couple of minutes until pale and smooth. Now add the icing sugar and the milk and whisk for a couple of minutes. Next, add the cooled down melted chocolate and whisk for another two minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.

Now prepare the ganache. Heat the cream in a pan until it just comes to a boil. Place the chocolate in a bowl and drizzle the hot cream on top. Let it sit for a minute then stir until all the chocolate has melted.

All that’s left to do now is to assemble the cake.

Place the cake on a cake board and spread some of the chocolate buttercream. Place the second cake on top and then more icing followed by the last cake. Cover the cake all over with the buttercream and then let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes until slightly set.

Now, cover the cake with the ganache and insert the plastic tube in the cake. Cover the tube in the ganache and then stick the mini chocolate eggs all the way up to the top of the tube. Decorate the base of the cake with sprinkles. Finally, take a big chocolate egg, break the top of it and place it carefully on top of the tube. There you have it, a cake sent from space!