Neapolitan chocolate fudge cake recipe
- 500 g (17.6oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 500 g (17.6oz) icing sugar, sieved
- 3 tbsp double cream
- 200 g (7.1oz) caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 140 g (4.9oz) sour cream
- 120 ml (4.2fl oz) sunflower oil
- 165 g (5.8oz) plain flour
- 55 g (1.9oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 150 ml (5.3fl oz) hot coffee
- 50 g (1.8oz) plain or dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 g (3.5oz) caster sugar
- 100 ml (3.5fl oz) water
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp strawberry jam + 2 tbsp freeze-dried strawberry powder
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 25 g (0.9oz) plain or dark chocolate, melted and cooled a little
- To make your syrup, place the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat once the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has boiled for 12 minutes.
- Leave to cool.
- Once cooled to a warm temperature add the vanilla to infuse, ideally overnight in the fridge.
- To make your three chocolate fudge cake layers, preheat the oven to 160C, and grease three 20cm round cake tins and line them with parchment paper.
- Alternatively, spray the tins with cake-release spray.
- In the large bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat together the sugar and eggs until the mixture is thick and pale.
- Then beat in the sour cream, followed by the oil.
- In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in the stand mixer bowl and mix to make a dough.
- In a separate bowl, pour the hot coffee over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted.
- Add the vanilla extract, then pour the hot liquid into the mixture in the bowl of the stand mixer while the machine is running on a medium speed until the ingredients are combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula and mix fully.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tins and bake for 60 to 70 minutes.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- While your cakes are cooling, make the buttercream.
- In the large bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat the butter until it is pale.
- Add half of the sugar and mix it into the butter while the mixer is running on a slow speed.
- Once combined, add the remaining sugar.
- Increase the mixer speed to high and beat the mixture for approximately 5 minutes until it is very light and fluffy.
- Then reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the double cream a little at a time until you achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency.
- Tip: When you add the sugar to the beaten butter, wrap a clean kitchen towel tightly around the top of the stand mixer bowl to avoid a cloud of icing sugar turning your kitchen into a snowy Christmas scene.
- Divide the buttercream equally into three bowls and add one of the flavourings (strawberry, vanilla, chocolate) to each bowl, mixing them into the buttercream well.
- Place the buttercreams in separate piping bags, each fitted with a large star-piping tip (or use the same tip for each frosting, washing it well before switching to the next bag).
- Make sure your cake layers are now entirely cool.
- Cut the tops off the cooled cake layers using a serrated knife or a cake leveler.
- Brush the top of each layer with the vanilla syrup.
- Position your first layer onto the cake stand or a cake board and begin piping.
- For this bottom layer, use the chocolate buttercream.
- Pipe circles from the outside to the centre of the top of the layer until you have covered the surface with an even amount of frosting.
- Carefully position the next cake layer on top, then repeat the piping process with the vanilla frosting.
- Now carefully position the top cake layer on top and repeat the process, piping neat rings of strawberry frosting.
- For an alternative finish, you might like to leave a small gap around the edge of the top cake layer and roughly pipe over the strawberry frosting, then smooth this layer flat with a small metal spatula.
- Then pipe a neat ring around the top edge.
cream, caster sugar, eggs, sour cream, sunflower oil, cocoa, baking powder, salt, chocolate, vanilla, caster sugar, water, vanilla, strawberry, vanilla, chocolate
Taken from www.lovefood.com/guide/recipes/42949/neapolitan-chocolate-fudge-cake-recipe (may not work)