White and Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe

To follow on from yesterday's rather indulgent dessert of Orange Profiteroles with Orange Chocolate Sauce, today we have another rather indulgent recipe.

If you like cakes, or you like chocolate then this cake is definitely for you. With two vanilla layers and two chocolate and coffee layers that are alternately stacked this cake looks fantastic and with its white and dark chocolate topping it makes it an indulgent treat.

This would be great as a a birthday recipe cake, but if you alter the decoration to make a spider or other ghoulish shape on top this would also be a fantastic recipe for a Halloween cake.

The recipe is truly worth it for the ganache alone, as this chocolate topping and filling can be used for a whole host of other recipes (use it as a topping for the profiteroles I posted yesterday).

Of course, maybe you just want to bake this as a treat for yourself. You know you want to...

White and Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

75g (3 oz) butter, softened
100g (4 oz) white chocolate (the best is any brand with real vanilla seeds)
100g (4 oz) dark chocolate (at last 70% cocoa solids)
3 eggs
100ml (2/5 cup) whole milk
175g (1 cup, scant) caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
200g (8 oz) self-raising flour
2 tbsp strong coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Ganache Topping:
285ml (1 1/5 cups) double cream
200g (8 oz) dark chocolate (at last 70% cocoa solids)
50g (2 oz) white chocolate, melted
1 small bag of white Maltesers

Method:

For the cake, place the white and dark chocolate int two separate bowls. Melt over a pan of barely simmering water. In the meantime, combine all the other cake ingredients (except the coffee and vanilla) in a bowl and beat until creamy.

Divide the creamy mixture between the two bowls of melted chocolate then add the coffee to the bowl with the dark chocolate and the vanilla to the bowl with the white chocolate. Stir until thoroughly mixed then pour each batter into its own 20cm diameter sandwich tin that's been greased and lined.

Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mark 4) and bake for about 25 minutes, or until well risen and springy to the touch. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

For the ganache, pour the cream into a pan and bring just to a boil. Break the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl and pour over the cream. Set aside for 5 minutes then stir the mixture until smooth. Allow to cool and thicken then split both cakes in half horizontally before layering up with the ganache (alternate the white and dark layers).

To decorate, drizzle a zigzag pattern of the white chocolate over the top of the cake and finish with the white Maltesers. Allow to set then slice into wedges and serve.

As a thank-you for reading this Halloween-themed recipe (and hopefully preparing it!), I have teamed with the Celtnet Recipes website to give anyone who wants it a completely free eBook of Halloween recipes. Simply go to the download your free Halloween recipes eBook and grab your copy today, completely free and with absolutely no strings attached.