Celebration Chocolate Berry Cake

I’m back again to join the party at Fiesta Friday! After last weeks amazing response to my white chocolate and orange celebration cake, I thought I should pop by again with another one. Today’s cake will prove just how easy a stunning celebration cake can be to make.

This cake is a muffin mix I adapted from a children’s recipe book. The type you find with simple drawings of bowls and wooden spoons… I have used the mix for years, chucking all the ingredients in a bowl and bunging the cake into the oven! The secret is to go with your gut feeling and take the cakes out when they are just ready, not when they are dry. A simple skewer into the centre of the cake works for me every time.

The ribbon around the middle of the cake was a great little trick I used to cover up the fact the filling was starting to mingle with the ganache before it set. I think it worked really well! As for the fruit, not only does it bring stunning colour to an other wise normal chocolate cake, it means you can have a bigger slice and not feel guilty!

CHOCOLATE BERRY CAKE

Ingredients:
100g butter
150g brown sugar
2 eggs
200g plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoon cocoa powder
180ml milk

Filling:
100ml double cream
1 punnet strawberries

Ganache:
90g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
60ml double cream

Decoration:
Seasonal fruit

Preheat the oven to 190°/gas mark 5 or turn your Rayburn off! Line 2 7/8inch cake tins.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and sift in the dry ingredients.  At this stage the mixture will be dry, adding in the milk bit by bit will make it smooth. Bake for 20-25 minutes,  or until a skewer comes out clean and leave the sponges to cool. Once the sponges are cold, sandwich together with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

For the ganache, place the chocolate pieces in a clean bowl. Bring the cream to the boil, remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.  Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth and glossy.  Allow to cool slighty, then pour all over the cake. Decorate with fresh berries and leave to cool. Finally, finish by adding a ribbon around the middle.

Enjoy the party over at the novice gardener, I’ll save you a slice!

Melissa xx