Mississippi Mud Cake

I made this "Thank You" cake today using a recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Home sweet Home book. This Cake would be great if you need an absolutely MASSIVE cake!! I have to say that the picture of theirs in the book must have been taken from a long, long, way away because it definitely was not as big as mine! If you were looking for a smaller cake I would suggest halving the ingredients and having two layers rather than the three I did.

Ingredients (serves 10-12): For the sponge: 250g unsalted butter, softened ♦ 600g caster sugar ♦ 3 large eggs ♦ 470g plain flour ♦ 140g cocoa powder ♦ 2tsp bicarbonate of soda ♦ ½tsp salt ♦ 375ml buttermilk ♦ 1tsp vanilla extract ♦ 375ml boiling water For the frosting: 800g icing sugar, sifted ♦ 120g cocoa powder, sifted ♦ 150g unsalted butter, cubed ♦ 600g full-fat cream cheese For the decoration: 40g dark chocolate, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Method: Step 1: Preheat the oven to 170C. Line three 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins with baking parchment. Using a hand-held electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Mix the buttermilk and vanilla extract in a jug. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Mix well on a medium speed. Slowly add the boiling water, mixing until combined. Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared cake tins. Bake for 35-45min. Remove from the tins and let cool before frosting.

Step 2: Whisk the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter together on a low speed until there are no large lumps. Add a little cream cheese to loosen the mixture and beat until smooth, then add the remainder and mix on a slow speed. Turn the speed to high and beat the frosting until light and fluffy.

Step 3: Once the sponge layers feel cool, assemble the cake. Place the first layer on a plate and top with 3-4tbsp of frosting. Smooth out the frosting using a palette knife. Sandwich the second layer on top, then add more frosting, followed by the third cake layer. Next, frost the sides and top. I have also used chocolate transfer sheets to make the lettering for the top of the cake and sprinkled chocolate shavings around the base.

Recipe from Home Sweet Home by Tarek Malouf and The Hummingbird Bakers (Collins, £20).