Ginger and White Chocolate Smores Cake

Perfect to share with your loved ones, family, friends and neighbours. ❤️

Layers of rich moist chocolate sponge, white chocolate buttercream, ginger biscuits, chocolate shards, chocolate drip and toasted meringue top.

Equipment
Performance Cake tins
Mixing bowl
Spatula
Piping bags

Ingredients

Sponge
300g self raising flour
150g cocoa powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
400g caster sugar
300ml buttermilk
2tsp vanilla bean paste
3 large eggs
220ml vegetable oil
130ml water mixed with 3tbsp coffee granules

Chocolate shards
200g milk chocolate – melted
10 ginger biscuits crushed

White chocolate buttercream
300g softened unsalted butter
540g icing sugar
200g white chocolate – melted

Chocolate ganache drip
80g milk chocolate
80g double cream

Swiss meringue
3 large egg whites
170g caster sugar
¼tsp cream of tartar
1tsp vanilla

Method

Sponge

1. Grease and line the base of two 8” tins and preheat oven to 160 fan.
2. Place all dry ingredients for the sponges in a large bowl and roughly mix. Add beaten eggs, vanilla and buttermilk to the bowl and mix well with wooden spoon. Add vegetable oil and coffee mixture to the bowl and divide equally between two tins.
3. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.

Chocolate shards

1. Place chocolate in a bowl and heat for 20 second intervals in microwave until melted.
2. Crinkle up a piece of greaseproof paper and pour over the chocolate. Spread out with a palette knife and scatter over crushed ginger biscuits and leave to set
3. Once cold, cut into shards using a sharp knife (keep remaining crushed ginger biscuits for each layer of cake)

Buttercream

1. Melt white chocolate in the microwave on 20second intervals and leave to cool.
2. Meanwhile, beat butter until pale in colour and add icing sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add white chocolate and keep beating until very smooth.

Assemble

1. Slice cooled sponges in half equally. Place a little buttercream on a cake board/cake stand to help secure first layer.
2. Add two spoonfuls of buttercream to the top and smooth with palette knife then sprinkle a handful of crushed biscuits on top. Continue with other sponge layers in the same way with buttercream and biscuits.
3. Cover the whole cake with the remaining buttercream and smooth the top and sides with a large palette knife and pop in the fridge to harden.

Ganache

1. Place chocolate and cream in a microwaveable bowl and heat for 20second intervals until you have a smooth silky ganache.
2. Leave to cool until its thick enough to drip.
3. Place ganache into a bottle or piping bag and squeeze enough to drop down the sides all around the edge of the cake, add remaining ganache to the top and leave to set.

Swiss meringue

1. Place egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a pan of simmering water on medium heat. Continue to whisk the mixture until light and frothy, until no sugar grains can be felt when rubbing a little mixture between your fingers.
2. Remove from heat and whisk until cold, thick and glossy. Add the cream of tartar and vanilla and keep whisking until meringue holds still peaks.
3. Place on top of cake and use a spatula to create texture and peaks.
4. Use a blow torch to toast the meringue and decorate with the chocolate shards.

ENJOY!