Vanilla & Chocolate Blossom Cake

12th March 2024

Vanilla sponge cake with chocolate buttercream layer, smoothed on the top and sides. Decorated with Belgium milk and white chocolate blossoms over the whole outside of the cake.

Vanilla & Chocolate Blossom Cake Recipe

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Cooling/Decorating Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Servings: 12

List of equipment needed:

Scales, 8 inch cake tins x2, Non stick parchment paper, Large bowl, Sieve, Electric mixer or Wooden spoon, Spatula, Butter knife, Tablespoon (Tbsp), Teaspoon (Tsp), Cake tester, Cooling rack, Large lipped tray, Cranked palette knife.

Ingredients

For the sponge:

230g Baking butter
230g Caster sugar
4 Large eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
230g Self raising flour

For the buttercream:

200g Block butter
400g Icing sugar
20g Cocoa powder
2 - 4 tbsp Boiling water

For the decoration:

200g Milk and white chocolate blossoms/curls

Instructions

For the sponge:

Preheat the oven to 190⁰c, Fan 170⁰c, Gas 5, 375⁰F.
Prepare two 8 inch cake tins by greasing and lining.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar using a mixer until it becomes pale in colour.
Add each egg individually, mixing well in between.
Next add the vanilla extract to the mix and combine.
Sieve the flour into the bowl and fold in gently using a spatula until combined.
Split the cake mixture between both cake tins.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check with a cake tester.
Allow to cool before turning the sponges out onto a wired cooling rack.

For the buttercream:

To make the buttercream first dissolve the cocoa powder in the boiling water to make a thick paste and leave to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk the block butter until soft. Sieve half the icing sugar into the bowl and mix then repeat with the remaining icing sugar.
Add the cocoa paste to the buttercream and mix until combined.
Put a small amount of buttercream in the center of the cake board or plate. Place one of the sponges on top. This should stop the cake from slipping off.
Next spread approximately half an inch of buttercream onto the prepared sponge.
Place the second sponge on top, using the remainder of buttercream smooth over the sides and top of the whole cake using a cranked palette knife.
Place the cake in the middle of a large, lipped tray. This helps keeping the chocolate blossoms/curls from going everywhere. This allows you to use them again on the cake.
Using your hands gently scoop and push the chocolate blossoms/curls into the buttercream ensuring the cake is covered, as much as possible.

Store for 3 days in airtight containers.

Notes:

Cake stand or turntable can be very helpful with covering the cake as it will lift your cake higher giving you a clearer view of coverage.
You could also use a large serving tray to contain the chocolate blossoms/curls when covering the cake.