Chocolate Surprise Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

Another easy birthday cake for my dear son a few years ago.



Cake 
Ingredients : for  8" chiffon cake pan 
5 egg yolks
8g caster sugar
40g corn or sunflower oil  
1/8 tsp salt
40g cake flour
20g cocoa powder
30g rice flour 在来米粉/粘米粉
70g chocolate milk

5 egg whites
60g caster sugar
1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar (I only used 1/4 to 1/2)

Method :
1. Sift cake flour, cocoa powder and rice flour twice.
2. Mix egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, whisk till sugar has dissolved.
3. Add in oil, salt and chocolate milk and mix well.
4. Sift in flour mixture and whisk well.
5.In another bowl, beat the egg whites and lemon juice/vinegar till frothy. Add in sugar gradually and beat until approaching stiff peaks (meringue stand straight with a little curve at the tip) or till stiff peaks (this stage is a bit difficult to fold with egg yolk mixture).

6. Use whisk to loosen the egg yolk batter a bit, then take 1/3 of meringue and use a hand whisk to mix well with egg yolk batter.

7. Fold in 1/2 of meringue and use a silicone spatula, gently fold with egg yolk batter till slightly combined. Fold in the balance meringue and gently fold till well combined. 
8. Pour the batter from a considerable height into cake pan, lightly shake it left and right to level the cake, then gently bang the cake pan on the table top to release air bubbles. 

9. Bake at pre-heated oven at 150C at center rack for 25 mins and 160C for 15-20 mins. (I off the top heat element and on it back during the last 15 mins)

10. Remove the cake pan from oven, drop it from high side to prevent the cake shrink too much during cool process.

11. Turn the cake pan upside down and cool completely before remove from the cake pan. 

Whole Egg Butter Cream 

Ingredients:

200g sugar

250-300g water

4 eggs

750g hard butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

100g chocolate, chopped into small pieces and melted 

Method :

1. Pour the sugar and water in the saucepan and boil till thicken (about 15 mins) in high heat.

2. Whisk eggs until creamy and triple the volume.

3. Pour the sugar syrup very slowly into the egg mixture with the mixer running.

4. Continue to beat on high speed till the mixture is completely cool, which about 10 mins or less. (I used cold towel to wrap around the mixing bowl to cool down the mixture while whisking)

5. Add in cubed butter, cream in low speed, then increase to medium to high speed. If the mixture curdle, just continue to beat it.

6. Keep beating until all of the butter is added and the buttercream is smooth and creamy.

7. Beat in vanilla and mix well.

8. Keep about 300g of buttercream in the mixing bowl, the rest remove from mixing bowl and keep in airtight container.

9. Pour the melted chocolate into the 300g buttercream and beat till well combine.

* the whole process of preparing the butter cream took about 45-50 mins.

** for this cake will use only about 1/4 or more of the buttercream. 

** keep the remaining buttercream in airtight container and keep in freezer. It must be brought back to room temperature and re-beaten before using. 

Chocolate Ganache :

100g chocolate, chopped into small pieces

50g milk

Heat up the milk and remove from fire, pour in the chocolate and stir till chocolate is melted.

Assemble :
1. Slice the cake horizontally into 3 pieces, brush with sugar syrup (sugar melted in water).
2. Place one slice of the cake into the cake pan and spread thick layer of chocolate butter cream.

3. Place another slice of the cake on top and chill it for about 1 hour.

4. Remove the cake from the fridge, cut a round hole at the center of the cake.

5. Pour the desired amount of M&M into the hole, spread the chocolate buttercream to cover.

4. Place another slice of the cake on top, spread the chocolate buttercream all over the cake and smooth the coating.

5. Pour the chocolate ganache on the cake.

6. Decorate the cake.

7. Chill the cake

Verdict?

The cake is really yummy, the buttercream tasted like ice cream after chilled. Love the homemade buttercream so much that during that period, I made some much cakes with buttercream.