I always used to enjoy baking brownies and sponge cakes when I was younger, but it wasn't until I became an Aunt that I decided to learn more about cake decorating. I am lucky to have 6 amazing nieces and nephews and I want to be known as the Auntie who makes the best birthday cakes! I started off with a Peppa Pig cake for my niece Arabella's 2nd birthday and I went from there! Over the year's I have tried a lego cake, rainbow cake and large covered numbers. I used a mixture of online tutorials and took some classes at my local college and local cake decorating school (details at the bottom). There is something nice researching baking and decorating a birthday cake for a special birthday or anniversary. There is also the added bonus of no expectation and much less pressure than baking for a customer. I have wanted to try a 'drip cake' for ages, but hadn't got the confidence, so I decided that for my neice Ava's 7th birthday, it was time to give it a go (and if it didn't turn out well, I could cover it in buttercream and Malteser's!!!!!!!).
I used a recipe from Jane's Patisserie - https://www.janespatisserie.com/2018/07/20/malteser-drip-cake/
If you don't already follow Jane on instagram, it is definately worth doing. I use her recipes for most of my bakes. She has just had her first cookbook published too - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Janes-Patisserie-Deliciously-customisable-treats/dp/1529109426/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TY8PKG6AYA6I&keywords=janes+patisserie+book&qid=1653336840&sprefix=Jane%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-1
The 3 sponges are baked with malt powder in alongisde the usual flour and cocoa and this gives it a lovely light, but distinctive Malteser flavour. The buttercream also has malt powder in too. The 3 sponges are layered together and then I crumb coated the whole cake and popped it into the fridge for half an hour to set.
Once set, I put some Malteser chocolate spread onto the top of the cake (which comes in a jar that you can find next to Nutella in supermarkets). To make the ganache drip, you melt dark chocolate with sunflower oil and drizzle it around the side of the cake. Gravity naturally pulls the ganache down into the drip shape. I was worried that it would keep on dripping off the cake, but it soon stops and dries in position. After leaving it to set for 15 minutes, I piped some buttercream swirls on the top. Again, you don't need to worry too much about how neat they are as they will get covered in Malteser buttons!!!!
To decorate the cake, I used a mixture of bashed up Malteser in the middle, whole Malteser and Malteser buttons around the outside.
I finished the cake with lots of bronze candles and a birthday sign! Here is a peak inside the cake of the layers and here is Ava after blowing out her candles ready to try a slice!!!
Why not give a birthday cake a try? If in doubt, slather with buttercream and cover in chocolates!!!! Nothing tastes better than a homemade cake. If you would prefer to order this cake, drop me an email at: Sarah.tallon@outlook.com.
Here is the cake decorating school I took some courses at:
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