The Smarties & Kit Kat Double Chocolate Birthday Cake!

Last week was Byron's birthday! I have been anticipating baking his cake for about the past 2 months now! and I had big plans...that didn't last for too long when he told me he wanted a Smarties cake....

again?? I hear you say! yes I know...again! I was disappointed too...apparently the smarties cakes of '09 and '10 were so great he didn't want to break with tradition! Could I even convince him to have m&m's so at least we could have incorporated a bit of flavour in there like mint or coconut? no...only Smarties would do! 

So Smarties it was...and a whole lot of Smarties too - I initially bought 7 tubes of smarties to pile on top of the cake but at the last minute dashed out to buy 7 more! What the birthday boy wants the birthday boy gets! although I guess 14 is an improvement on the 22 tubes I had to buy for his cake last year!

I finished it off with this lovely purple chiffon bow, purple is my FAVE colour and I think it's even starting to rub off on Byron a little since a few weeks ago he bought a purple polo shirt and he would have never have done that at one time! so I decided to strike while the iron is hot and press on with the purple theme! 

Cue matching purple fountain candle! These things are the best! and certainly make everything seem more impressive, I even managed to sneak some little cupcake candles in there too! 

and this time round I'm not going to leave you hanging, I've decided to not be lazy and post it without the recipe...I even had to delve into the attic to get out my recipe book to make sure I posted it perfectly so here's hoping it goes to some use! This is hands down the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten, it always turns out delicious and stays moist for up to a week after too! Perfectly chocolatey without being too rich, and even being paired with the chocolate frosting isn't an overkill! If you're looking for a go to chocolate celebration cake recipe - this one is a winner! 

The Smarties & Kit Kat Double Chocolate Birthday Cake:

Serves 12-14

Chocolate Layer Cake Recipe

From The Primrose Bakery

The book says it makes two 8-inch cakes, but I managed to make three 8-inch cakes with this recipe!

Ingredients:

230g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids - I used Lindt)

170g unsalted butter, at room temperature

350g light soft brown sugar

3 large eggs, free range or organic, separated

370g plain flour, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

500ml semi skimmed milk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees c.

Break the choc into pieces and melt in 30 second intervals in a glass bowl in the microwave.  Set bowl aside to cool.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl for 3-5 minutes until the mix is pale and smooth.

Put the egg yolks in a separate bowl and beat them for several minutes, slowly add the egg yolks to the creamed butter and sugar and beat well. 

 Add the cooled chocolate to this mixture and beat well again.

Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a separate bowl.  Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a jug.  Add one third of the flour to the creamed mixture and beat well.  Pour in one third of the milk and beat again.  Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added.

 In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks start to form.  Carefully fold the egg whites into the main batter using a metal spoon (Do not beat or you will take the air out of the mixture).  

Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake for about 30 minutes.

Insert a skewer in the centre of one of the cakes, it should come out clean if cooked.  Leave to cool.

To Decorate:

Chocolate buttercream frosting:

175g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids - I used Lindt)

225g unsalted butter, at room temp

1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk, at room temp

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

250g icing sugar, sifted

Melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals in a glass bowl in the microwave until smooth.  Leave to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, milk, vanilla and icing sugar until smooth - this can take several minutes with an electric hand mixer.  

Add the melted chocolate and beat again until thick and creamy.  If it looks too runny to use, simply keep beating to thicken.

To Assemble:

1 batch of Chocolate frosting 

14 tubes of Smarties

20 two-finger Kit Kats

FYI:

Don't do like I did and buy 4 multi packs of Kit Kats, the cake I took my insipiration from on google was clearly baked in way bigger pans than I used and so I had waaaay too many Kit Kats left over!

Do do like I did and check each Kit Kat once it is unwrapped for imperfections...only the prettiest looking made the cut for my cake, yes that did mean I ended up eating about 8 lots of rejects...all in the name of quality control of course! 

Sandwich the cakes together with a generous layer of chocolate frosting.  Then decorate all around the sides of the cake with the same frosting, you can be as messy as you like as the Kit Kats then go on top but they may not sit perfectly straight if your frosting isn't perfectly straight so I still smoothed down my sides!

 Brush a very thin amount of frosting onto the back of each Kit Kat and starting at the base of the cake stick them around the edge.

Once you have a completed edge, fill the middle of your cake with Smarties! 

 Sit back, marvel at your creation and then devour the yumminess!