4-Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream

January 11, 2014March 24, 2016 What Jessica Baked Next54 Comments

This week I’m showing you how to make this ultimate layer cake with chocolate and salted caramel. I planned this recipe out and I’ve only just finally got round to baking it. The cake consists of 4 tiers of chocolate fudge cake layered with salted caramel buttercream. Make for special occasions such as birthday’s or just as a weekend treat and it will go down a treat.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Fudge Cake –

210g (1 and 3/4 cups) plain flour (all purpose)

400g (2 cups) caster sugar

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

(3/4 cup) good-quality cocoa powder

2 medium free-range eggs

240ml (1 cup) buttermilk

120ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil

240ml (1 cup) hot coffee

Salted Caramel Buttercream –

150g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

300g icing sugar, sifted

Large pinch sea salt

1 x 397g (14 ounce) can readymade caramel or dulce de leche

Method:

1. To make the cake: Preheat your oven to . Line two 8 or 9-inch inch cake tins with some baking parchment and grease the sides with butter. Sift all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl (the flour, sugar, bicarb, baking powder, salt and cocoa.) Mix with a wooden spoon until combined.

2. Now add the eggs, buttermilk, oil and the coffee. Whisk until all the ingredients are well combined and they are no lumps in the batter.

3. Distribute the cake mix into the tins and then bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cakes are well risen and a cake tester comes out clean. Once cooked, allow to cool in tins for 30 minutes then remove from tins and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

4. To make the buttercream: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, add the butter, the icing sugar and the vanilla. Whisk on low speed for until the mixture comes together, then gradually turn the speed up to medium and whisk for 5 minutes until the buttercream is very pale and light in colour. Then gently fold in the caramel and salt.

5. To assemble the cake: Cut each half into half again- so you have four layers of cake. Place one layer of cake down on a cake stand. Spread about a heaped tablespoon of the buttercream on and spread over. Then top with another layer of cake, spread with buttercream. Repeat this step with the other 2 layers of cake. Then spread a nice layer of the buttercream over the top of the cake. Then I topped the cake with some delicious chocolate caramel pieces.

Enjoy!

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Baking · Cakes · Chocolate · Cupcakes

Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

December 7, 2013June 14, 2018 What Jessica Baked Next40 Comments

Chocolate chip cupcakes with orange zest topped with chocolate orange buttercream. Zesty, chocolatey and the perfect treat anytime!

These cupcakes are one of my favourite bakes on the blog. They are by far one of the most popular recipes with my readers and they always get rave reviews! What I love most about this chocolate orange buttercream is that it suits two varieties of cupcakes, my choice for you is a beautifully simple vanilla cupcake filled with fresh orange zest and chips/chunks of dark or milk chocolate. Or you can sit this luscious buttercream atop a classic chocolate cupcake, with it’s glorious fudgy texture and rich dark chocolate flavour. I’ve made this buttercream and used to decorate both types of cupcakes I described above, so pick whichever one you like!

If you love the chocolate orange combo then this cupcake recipe is for you! Rich and buttery cupcakes exploding with tangy orange zest, creamy milk chocolate chips and vanilla. After baking the cupcakes are decorated with a gorgeous (and pretty addictive!) chocolate orange buttercream, which I could happily devour by the spoonful. The batter is like the cupcake version of cookie dough!

The recipe all starts with an easy cupcake batter. I use a trusty sponge cupcake batter which I have made ever since I started baking. The only change I’ve made is I like to milk chocolate chips or chunks along with orange zest to the mix. They give the cupcakes are beautiful zesty and gooey chocolatey flavour in each bite. But if you’re a chocoholic, you can try this recipe using my chocolate fudge cupcakes.

Decorate these amazing cupcake anyway you like! I love topping each cupcake with a chocolate orange segment as a finishing touch and festive sprinkles.

(Makes 12)

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

150g unsalted butter, softened

150g caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large free-range eggs, at room temperature

1 large orange, zested

100g milk chocolate chips or chunks

150g self-raising flour, sifted – or the same amount of flour + 2 teaspoons of baking powder

2-3 tablespoons milk

Chocolate Orange Buttercream:

150g butter, softened

250g-300g icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

157g orange flavoured chocolate, melted and cooled slightly (this is one whole chocolate orange)

2-3 tablespoons double cream or milk

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F / 160 Fan / Gas Mark 4. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cases.

2. To make the cupcakes: In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, sugar and vanilla. Cream until really light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and beat to combine. Toss the chocolate chips/chunks in about a tablespoon of the flour and mix – this will stop the chocolate chips sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes. Add the flour, and chocolate along with the orange zest and mix to combine. Adjust the consistency of the batter with milk.

3. Scoop the cupcake batter into the paper cases and then bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Once cooked all the way through, allow to cool in the tins for 5 minutes or until they’re cool enough to touch, then transport to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. To make the buttercream: Melt the chocolate in advance and leave to cool very slightly. In a stand mixer beat the butter, icing and vanilla together on medium to high speed for 5-7 minutes until light and creamy. Add the melted chocolate along with the cream and mix until combined.

5. Put the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with your favourite nozzle. Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake, then decorate as desired.

Enjoy!

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Baking · Cakes · Chocolate · Cupcakes

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

September 28, 2013August 10, 2018 What Jessica Baked Next3 Comments

Decadent chocolate fudge cupcakes with a moist crumb, topped with salted caramel buttercream. You’ll find it hard to stop eating these!

(Recipe and blog post updated September 2016)

I originally shared this recipe in October 2013. It remains one of my favourite cupcake recipes. I made these cupcakes three whole years ago for my grandad’s birthday. This was one of the first recipes I shared on my blog all that time ago. I’ve kept the concept of the original recipe the same, but I’ve made a few alterations, which I believe have made these cupcakes even more delicious.

So what makes these chocolate cupcakes special? I think the reason these cupcakes stand out from the other recipes I have tried is because this particular recipe incorporates melted dark chocolate into the batter. Sounds silly, right? But a fair share of chocolate cupcake recipes only call for cocoa powder, which is ok, but for me cocoa powder alone doesn’t pack that real chocolate flavour punch, you need a touch of dark chocolate in there for the strong chocolate taste. Also, the addition of coffee in the cupcake batter is a must! Coffee helps to bring out the chocolate flavour, but if you’re not a fan of mocha flavour or are making the cupcakes for kids/non coffee lovers, then you can leave it out and just use boiling water instead.

Another thing I changed to the original recipe is this time I added caramel to the buttercream. The first time I shared the recipe I topped the cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and drizzled each cupcake with caramel. This new version is a cheat’s recipe, I’m not even ashamed to admit that I use readymade caramel/dulce de leche, but if you have homemade you can definitely use that.

Decoration is where the fun begins! I like to decorate by drizzling each cupcake with extra caramel and some cubes of dairy fudge or chewy caramel candy/sweets. Feel free to scatter over some chocolate or sprinkles as well!

(Makes 12)

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cupcakes:

85g (3 ounces) dark chocolate, finely chopped

40g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant coffee granules or powder (optional)

180ml (3/4 cup) boiling water

105g (3/4 cup) bread flour (can be substituted with plain/all-purpose flour)

150g (3/4 cup) caster or granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt

1/2 teaspoon (3g) bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Salted Caramel Buttercream:

150g (2/3 cup) salted butter, softened

375g icing sugar, sifted

100g (3.5 ounces) caramel or dulce de leche

Pinch of salt

Method:

To make the cupcakes: Place the chopped chocolate, cocoa powder and coffee granules/powder (if using) in a medium mixing bowl. Pour the boiling water over and whisk until smooth and all the chocolate has melted. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C / 160 Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda until thoroughly combined. Whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla into the now cooled chocolate mixture. Finally, add the dry ingredients and whisk until you have a smooth batter.
Divide the batter between the paper cases – I find using an ice cream scoop best for doing this as it makes less mess. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until the cupcakes are well risen and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Leave to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes then transport to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
To make the buttercream: Once the cupcakes are cool, make your buttercream. Cream the softened butter until smooth. Add half the icing sugar and mix to combine. Add the remaining half of the icing sugar and beat again until throughly incorporated. Now continue to beat the butter and icing sugar together for about 5-7 minutes until it’s fluffy and a light pale colour. Make sure you scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
Finally, add the caramel/dulce de leche along with the salt and beat until combined. Adjust consistency of the buttercream with the double cream/milk. Taste the buttercream and add more salt if you’d like. Frost the cupcakes as desired. Decorate the cupcakes with an extra drizzle of caramel, fudge/caramels, chocolate or sprinkles.

Recipe Notes:

Bread flour can be substituted with regular plain/all-purpose flour. The bread flour has a higher gluten content and produces a denser, more even structured cupcake.
This recipe calls for caster or granulated sugar. I’m based in the UK and caster sugar is the most commonly used sugar in baking. It’s a superfine sugar and dissolves better than granulated sugar.
Prior to making the buttercream, I recommend leaving the butter out overnight at room temperature to soften. The softer the butter, the creamier and smoother your buttercream will be.
I used a large closed star tip nozzle to pipe the buttercream onto these cupcakes.
Decorated cupcakes will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. I don’t think cupcakes have ever lasted that long in our house!

Enjoy!

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