I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date! I am the most punctual person I know – apart from my mum – so I offer my infinite apologies. The date I am late for is the Nestle Baker’s Choice Bake It Yours competition.
The lovely people at Nestle sent me a ginormous hamper filled to over-flowing with their new and improved range of baking ingredients. Seeing as I already use their choc melts/choc chips/cocoa/baking chocolate I was in hog heaven!
I pawed through the packets and packets of exciting new products and started coming up with ideas for my recipe. In my mind I thought I had until the end of August. I was wrong – I had until the end of July. You will notice that it is no longer July. So I am sad to say I failed on the first hurdle.
Still, I had fun creating – and sampling – my recipe. I came up with the idea of a red velvet cake sandwiched together with chocolate mousse and dripping with dark chocolate ganache, as it combines three of my fav things in a dessert recipe.
It also had a real ‘wow!’ appeal. I have already decided that I will be re-making this cake for Christmas Day as it was so very delicious. The good thing about it is, you can all the parts in advance and then assemble close to serving.
There are things you can scrimp on in the kitchen and things you definitely cannot. Chocolate falls into the later category. I beg of you – do not use cheap compound chocolate when baking – the flavours just won’t be as good.
I pretty much always bake with dark chocolate rather than milk as I prefer the richer taste. Misses 8 and 10 prefer to eat milk chocolate but I rarely use it in baking.
So despite my tardiness I hope you make this cake – you won’t regret it.
GATHER:
Ganache:
125 grams Nestle Baker’s Choice dark chocolate Melts
½ cup cream
Mousse:
250 grams Nestle Baker’s Choice dark chocolate Melts
150g white marshmallows
50g butter
4 tablespoons hot water
285 grams thick cream
Cake:
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
4 tablespoons Nestle Baker’s Choice cocoa powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
180g butter, at room temperature, diced
¾ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon red liquid food colouring
LET’S GET TO IT:
Make the chocolate ganache: In a small saucepan over low heat melt the dark chocolate with cream. Stir until melted, thick and glossy. Allow to stand 15 minutes until thick.
Make the chocolate mousse and set aside to cool completely: Tip marshmallows, butter, choc chips and hot water into a large saucepan over a very low heat and stir continuously with a silver spoon.
Keep stirring, ensuring you scrape the bottom of the pan and keep the heat on the lowest you can.
When it is a smooth glossy mix remove from heat.
Beat the cream until just starting to reach firm peaks, then fold the chocolate into the cream and beat in bowl of electric mixer until combined – you made need to scrape down the sides with a spatula to make sure everything is mixed.
Set aside to room temperature.
Cake: Preheat oven to 180°C and spray 2, 20cm round cake tins with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom with non-stick baking paper.
Sift together the flour, cocoa and bicarb, set aside.
In bowl of electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Scrape down sides with spatula then with beaters on low beat in eggs one at a time – wait until it is fully incorporated before adding the next add.
Scrape down sides, beat in vanilla then fold in the flour mix and buttermilk, in alternate batches, until well combined.
Beat in the food colouring and mix until combined.
Divide between the two tins and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean.
Set aside for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When cake is cold use a serrated knife to even out the tops of the cake. Place one cake on serving board and top with the mousse – you will have some left over. Even out with a palette knife then top with the second cake.
Pour the ganache over the top – if it is cold or you made the ganache a few days in advance you make need to heat gently for a brief time until slightly liquid. Use a palette knife to encourage the ganache down the sides of the cake.
Allow ganache to set before slicing. Do not store cake in fridge.
the hungry mum 
This looks so good….I literally want to have a bite now! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Looks yummy and definitely Christmas worthy.😊
That looks divine and makes me drool.
Looks decadent and delicious!
Wow that is a healthy serving of chocolate ganache icing! 😀
Yum!
You are correct 🙂
Stop…please stop…I can’t…such delicious cake and mousse…I must have this!!!!! excellent recipe & the photos are beyond good!!
Oh my goodness … this looks absolutely delicious!!
Thanks Tanya! I must say, it is one of the most delicious cakes I have ever baked. Was pretty pleased with it 🙂
Love chocolate cakes, and this is a good one!
Oh, my! That looks absolutely decadent and fabulous!
Thanks Midge 🙂 It was one of the most delish cakes i’ve made. Was very happy with how it turned out.
What’s not to like!!! Lots of chocolate over a red velvet cake – perfect for the holidays or anytime 🙂
It is chocolate overload, but sometimes you’ve just got to go there 🙂
Red velvet is the BEST! I’m loving how rich yours looks. The right combination of “red” and chocolate. You know I don’t live far from you right?………..
I read the title of this post ant thought that it sounded really good — and then I saw your opening photo. “Good” doesn’t begin to describe it! 🙂