Hurrah! Christmas is now just around the corner and as we all prepare for evenings adorned with festive lights, cosy mulled wine and hours of Christmas TV specials why shouldn’t we also treat ourselves to a generous slice of cake too! Every month we create a delicious recipe using eggs from The Happy Egg Co. for you to re-create and enjoy at home. This month’s is a simple yet decadent treat inspired by every dinner host’s crowd pleaser; the After Dinner Mint. We absolutely adore the sweet and creamy chocolate paired with the fresh zing of peppermint; enjoy with a glass of ice cold milk or a steaming hot mug of coffee to help de-stress after all that Christmas shopping!

Basic Chocolate Cake (makes approximately 2 x 2″ layers of an 8″ diameter round cake)

453g self raising flour
453g butter
453g caster sugar
7 eggs
3 heaped tablespoons of cocoa powder mixed in a paste with  boiling water
1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream your butter in a mixer then add the sugar. Add in the flour along with half of the happy eggs for around one minute. Once half of the happy eggs are combined add the remaining eggs along with the cocoa paste and baking powder. Mix for about 5 minutes.

Pour batter in the pan until 2/3 full and place on the top shelf of a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 3/325F/170C. Bake for around 30 minutes. Repeat this step to create your second layer.

Chocolate and Peppermint Buttercream Recipe

500g diced/chopped butter at room temperature
300-400g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness you like)
6-12 drops of peppermint extract
100g melted dark chocolate
1 heaped tablespoon cocoa powder

Add half of the of butter into your mixer and cream. Then gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (cut into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add in the melted chocolate and cocoa powder then add the peppermint extract to taste.

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

Decoration-wise you can keep the look of your cake plain and simple or flex your decorating muscles with fondant elves and snow people. We created some large green trees with candy melts and some green gel paste food colouring. Simply pipe the melted candy melts onto parchment paper on a flat tray and chill until hard. We also created some subtle ridges in our chocolate buttercream and dusted the top with icing sugar to create the look of a mountainous snow sprinkled background.

Once finished you should find yourself left with one tempting cake. Remember to try to save at least half for everyone else to fight over.

Happy Holidays!