Adrian’s 7 Layer Chocolate Cake

with Chocolate & Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a fantastic cake to both make and eat, the cake is soft and moist and the frosting is rich and sweet. I find that when the sponge is made on the same day, as when you eat the cake it always tastes just that little bit better. If you have only one 20cm cake tin you will need to halve this recipe and make it twice.

Ingredients

2 cup water

2 ½ cups caster sugar

250g unsalted butter

1 cup Cocoa

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

400 g Dark Chocolate

2 ½ cups self raising flour, sifted

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Chocolate & cream cheese frosting

250gm icing sugar, sifted

40gm cocoa powder, sifted

200gm cream cheese

250gm unsalted butter, at room temperature

350gm dark chocolate, melted

Method

Preheat oven to 190ºC conventional or 170ºC fan forced. Line 2 x 20cm cake pan base with baking paper and lightly grease sides of pan. Combine water, sugar, butter, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda in medium saucepan; stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves.

Bring to boil, reduce heat & simmer uncovered for 2 minutes. Pour over chocolate & stir. Cool to room temperature (this takes about 30 minutes).

Add flour and egg and beat until just combined. Pour into the two pans and bake for 40 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes then turn onto cooling rack.

Chocolate & cream cheese frosting

In a magimix or a processor, add the cream cheese & butter and mix until smooth, you may need to wipe down the sides until smooth. Slowly add the sifted icing sugar & cocoa. Mix until combined.

Pour in chocolate and mix until combined. Use while soft.

When the cakes have cooled, Slice the cakes in half so that you have four rounds of cake. Place the First layer the cake on your cake board or plate. Smear with frosting evenly right up to the edges of the cake. Add the next layer of sponge and continue layering.

Save about a third of the frosting to smear on top of and around the cake.

Serve.

*Stock Image.