Chocolate malteser cake

This is the cake I chose to bake for my hubby's birthday. I have made it before a few years ago, and remember thinking it was a little dry/ rubbery, but thought perhaps I had done something wrong and should give it another go. Unfortunately, I still wasn't happy with it. The flavour is great, but it does seem rubbery and not finely textured. On looking at the recipe again, I think it is because the cake doesn't have much fat added to it in the form of butter or oil, which I guess is great from a dietary point of view, but from a pure enjoyment viewpoint, it lets the side down a little. Still, the flavour is so good I am determined to try it again soon, but rework the quantities of ingredients to something closer to a Victoria sponge cake. If you like Maltesers, then you'll love the buttercream icing. Making a normal chocolate sponge cake and icing it with the choc-malt buttercream icing would be a delicious alternative to making the sponges as they are in this recipe.

I actually found it a little better the next day - whether this was because I had had time to get over my disappointment, or whether the texture did indeed improve overnight, I am not quite sure. My hubby and the boys loved it anyway, and it is a very presentable cake.

For the cake:

• 150g soft light brown sugar
• 100g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 175ml milk
• 15g butter (yes, that is correct)
• 30ml Horlicks
• 175g plain flour
• 25g cocoa, sieved
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarb soda

Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and line two 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins.

Whisk the sugars and eggs until light and frothy. Assuming you have a free standing mixer, while this is happening, heat the milk, butter and Horlicks in a saucepan until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot, but not boiling. Beat the Horlicks mixture into the eggs and sugar, then fold through the remaining dry ingredients. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for around 25 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. Cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes before turning the cakes out of their tins.

For the icing:

• 250g icing sugar
• 1tsp cocoa
• 45g Horlicks
• 125g soft unsalted butter
• 30ml boiling water
  
• 75g Maltesers

Put the icing suagr, cocoa and Horlicks into a food processor bowl and blitz to remove any lumps (saves sifting - yay!!!). Add the butter and process again. Pour the boiling water into the funnel with the motor running until a smooth buttercream has formed.

When the cakes are cold, ice one cake with half the icing, sandwich the other cake on top and spread with the remaining icing. Decorate with the Maltesers.

Source: Feast, Nigella Lawson.

I had to include this pic as I love my Nigella loose-bottomed sandwich tins! I love that they have the dimensions printed on the side. I wish all cake tins had this.


ready to bake; freshly baked