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Celebration Chocolate Wreath Cake
This picture-perfect wreath cake is easily customisable to suit your celebration. Top with whatever fits your theme - chocolate malt balls, honeycomb, wafers or fruit. Let your imagination lead you!
- Serves: 8 |
- Difficulty: moderate
- Prep Time : 30 mins |
- Cook Time : 30 mins
Ingredients
Cake
120 g butter, cubed at room temperature
100 g white sugar
65 g brown sugar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ C (125 ml) sour cream
¼ C (60 ml) milk (replace with orange juice for a choc-orange/Jaffa flavour profile)
zest of 2 medium oranges* (optional)
120 g flour
70 g cocoa powder
½ tsp (2,5 ml) salt
½ tsp (2,5 ml) baking powder
½ tsp (2,5 ml) bicarbonate of soda
1 Tbsp (15 ml) instant coffee
¼ C (60 ml) hot water
Ganache
150 g 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped
150 ml cream
To Serve
edible gold shimmer dust
chocolate shavings
white chocolate malted puff balls (rolled in a little edible gold shimmer dust)
fresh or dried fruit** (we used dried orange slices available online and from specialty liquor outlets)
rosemary sprigs
You’ll Need
a 23 cm ring cake tin
Tinglide™ * (available at baking supply shops) or non stick spray
*if you want to try a Jaffa-inspired choc-orange flavour, sub the milk with the same amount of orange juice and add in the zest of 2 oranges)
Method
Cake
Preheat the oven to 180 ºC.
Add the butter and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream well until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the sour cream, orange juice and zest and mix to combine.
In a large mixing bowl, sift the cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and bicarb of soda together and then add the instant coffee and mix well to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix in the stand mixer and mix to combine. Lastly, pour in the hot water while mixing and combine until the batter is smooth. Don’t overmix.
Grease a 23 cm ring cake tin well with Tinglide™ or non-stick spray and pour the batter into the tin. Tap the tin a few times on the counter to even out the batter and remove any air bubbles. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool, then turn out of the tin onto a wire cooling rack. Trim the base of the cake (if needed) to create a flat surface and place onto a cake stand or serving platter.
Ganache
Place the chocolate piece into a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges, don’t let it boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it stand for 2 minutes. Stir with a spatula to combine and form a smooth, glossy ganache. Let the ganache cool for 15 minutes to thicken slightly.
To Serve
Pour or drizzle the thickened ganache onto the top of the cake; use a pallet knife to smooth it and push it over the edges to form a pretty drip pattern, it should hold and not run off. Create a layer of ganache all around the top of the cake. Top the cake with your chosen decorations – chocolate shards, dried orange slices, rosemary, fruit, white chocolate balls dusted in edible gold dust. Add a sprinkling of edible gold dust over the whole cake and serve.
Tip: this wreath cake is fully customisable, think berries or other fruits, wafers, truffles, chocolate balls, pieces of honeycomb and more.
*Tinglide® is an all-purpose confectionery release agent, specifically designed to help release cakes from the tin without damage. If you are unable to find Tinglide®, ensure that you grease your tin very well with non-stick cooking spray.
