Well I can't really believe it, but today is this little blog baby 'Life is Butterful's' 2nd birthday!! Whaaaaat!? Where did that time go?
I just want to take a moment to thank all of you for all the support and love you've shown me over the years for this little blog! I have lots of exciting things to come and it looks like LIB isn't slowing down anytime soon, quite the opposite!
I also want to thank you for the support I've been given for my new business
Chasing Arrows, it's all just so crazy exciting!
So...in celebration of this little milestone...I baked one heck of a birthday cake!! (and no I didn't eat it, i'm still on my sugar free plan, so it was given to loved ones) but I am all for having sugar for all kinds of celebrations! This (apparently) delicious cake is a....
DARK CHOCOLATE & NUTELLA LAYER CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
For the cake:
150 g butter
3 1/2 cups plain
flour
400 grams
nutella
3 tsp baking
powder
3 tsp baking
soda
3 cups
granulated sugar
4 medium eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
200 grams dark
chocolate
1 ¼ cup boiling
water
For the cream cheese frosting:
150 g butter,
softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
200 g cream cheese
METHOD:
For the cake:
Preheat oven to
175°C/350°F.
Grease and line
three 18cm baking pans.
In a saucepan
add the butter and dark chocolate, put on a low heat until completely melted
then allow it to cool. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into
a large mixing bowl. Add the previously melted butter and chocolate and mix
well. Add in all the remaining ingredients and beat until batter is completely
smooth.
Divide evenly
between the three pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes
out clean. Allow it to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then transfer onto a
cooling rack until completely cool.
For the cream cheese frosting:
Beat the
softened butter until pale (about 2 minutes).
Add the powdered sugar and continue beating
until frosting is very pale and fluffy (3-5 minutes). Add cream cheese and beat until smooth. This icing
tends to look a bit yellow so if you want your icing to be white add just the
tiniest bit (start off with a very small amount, like the tip of a toothpick
and then add more if needed) of purple/royal blue icing colour.
ASEMBLING:
Once all three cakes are completely cooled you can start
to assemble the cake. To create a nice flat top on each layer, get a sharp
knife and cut the uneven top of the cake off to make it level, that will make
it easier to stack the layers. Place the first layer on a cake stand, then
spread a generous amount of the frosting on top. Add the next later and repeat
this process for all cake layers. Finishing with a large amount of frosting on
top, spread with a spatula and make the top even. Spread some frosting around the
edge between each layer to create the illusion of thick icing.
Using fresh blooms is a stunning option to dress your
cake, just make sure they’re food safe flowers! If you want to create a
dramatic look with your floral topper it’s great to add varying shades of
colour, different layers and textures. Place the flowers on top of the cake at
different heights, in this case tulips were placed to add height at the back
and in front a mix of orchids and blossoms were added to create variation.
Enjoy!
Recipe, styling and photography by me.
Xo
J
