Set against the rather earnest simplicity of baking at the moment – earthy sourdoughs; spelt, khorosan and millet; coconut sugar cakes and raw brownies – these chocolate bar-inspired concoctions stand out as trashier and less fashionable than ever.
That’s exactly as cake should be. Take that childish joy you once had stood in front of the cornershop chocolate bar counter, grubby fingers plucking at Freddos, KitKats and Twixes, and translate it to the kitchen: whisk together a cake, biscuit, bun or pudding in all the flamboyant, greedy glory that home baking is all about.
Malted chocolate layer cake
There’s a double hit of malt in this sweetly chocolatey layer cake – first from the malt extract folded into the cake batter and through the buttercream, and then from the Maltesers crushed and strewn between the layers. You can find malt extract in any high-street health food shop, and in a few of the larger supermarkets, too: it’s sold in jars, has a rich brown colour and a consistency somewhere between the sticky thickness of honey and black treacle.
Serves 10
For the cake
250g salted butter, softened
200g soft light brown sugar
125g malt extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
300g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
To ice
250g salted butter, softened
40g cocoa powder
3 tbsp malt extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
350g icing sugar
1-2 tbsp milk
150-250g Maltesers, crushed roughly
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease two round 20cm cake tins and line their bases with baking parchment.
2 Beat the butter and brown sugar together for a good 2-3 minutes, until smooth and light. Stir in the malt extract and vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, whisking well between each one. Don’t worry if the mixture is a little curdled at this point – it’ll come together smoothly as soon as the dry ingredients go in.
3 Mix the flour and baking powder together before adding to the wet mixture. Beat briefly to combine and give a smooth, loose batter. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake tins and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and golden brown. A small knife inserted into the centre of each cake should emerge with no more than a crumb or two stuck to it. Leave the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in their tins before unmoulding them and transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
4 Once the cakes are completely cool (and you really do need to be patient here, because if cut while warm they’ll just crumble), slice each layer horizontally in half to give a total of four thin layers.
5 For the buttercream, beat the butter, cocoa powder, malt and vanilla extracts until smooth. Add the icing sugar a little at a time (add it all at once and it’ll take forever to work the ingredients together) and mix until the buttercream is thick and well combined. Add enough milk to loosen the buttercream to a lighter, spreadable consistency – it ought to be soft enough to spread over the delicate cake layers without ripping them.
6 Spread a fifth of the buttercream over each of the four cake layers. Sandwich the sponges together, sprinkling a few crushed Maltesers between the layers. Spread the remaining buttercream around the sides of the cake in a thin layer. Decorate the top of the cake with crushed or whole Maltesers however you want.
Salted peanut caramel shortbread
This caramel shortbread, or millionaire’s shortbread, takes Snickers bars as its inspiration. I’ve never really craved Snickers bars themselves, but somehow this biscuit-based spinoff – reimagined with buttery shortbread and a fudgy filling – has been disappearing from my fridge in thick wedges all week long.
For the shortbread
110g butter, softened
50g soft light brown sugar
150g plain flour
50g roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
For the caramel
400g tin condensed milk
150g crunchy peanut butter
125g soft dark brown sugar
25g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
100g dark chocolate
50g milk chocolate
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and have a 20cm round spring-form cake tin to hand.
2 Beat the butter until very smooth and soft then stir in the sugar to combine. Add the plain flour and chopped peanuts, and work everything together by mashing it under the back of the spoon. When the ingredients begin to form clumps, finish the making the dough with your hands: press the clumps together to form a very buttery, crumbly dough, and press this into the base of the 20cm cake tin. Pack the crumbs down very firmly under the base of a glass then prick all over with a fork. Transfer to the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
3 Bake the chilled shortbread in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until it’s a light golden brown all over. It’ll firm as it cools and sets, so don’t be tempted to bake it until it’s perfectlyhard.
4 While the shortbread base cools, prepare the caramel layer: combine the condensed milk, peanut butter and brown sugar in a pan over a medium-low heat. Stir constantly while the mixture heats, and once it reaches a very gentle simmer – with just a few bubbles breaking through the surface – cook and stir for a further 4-5 minutes, until the caramel is thick, smooth and has darkened a shade.
5 As soon as the caramel has cooked, beat in the butter, vanilla extract and salt, pour over the baked shortbread and leave to cool to room temperature.
6 Once the caramel has cooled, melt the chocolates together either in the microwave (in short bursts, stirring regularly) or in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, pour on to the caramel, lightly ripple it under a knife or spoon and move to the fridge to chill for 10-15 minutes. You can also score the chocolate, marking out servings, before you chill it to prevent the chocolate splintering when you cut the shortbread.
