Em

Chocolate and Coconut Cake with Dulce De Leche and Cashews


A tremendous weight of guilt has been following me around this week because of how dormant mbakes has been recently. Mama and me have just moved into the most spacious flat to ever grace the industrial beast of Bexley known as Slade Green. Moving the contents of a three bedroom house into a flat is not easy, so this ugly cake (which carries with it the most indulgent pairings) was made for the woman who carried flat packs, heavy duty black bags and my ever growing and pointless collection of kitchen ‘bits’ to the second floor.
And it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Waitrose, who offered to help me put together a cakey so and so for Mother’s Day. They’ve also put together a collection of lovely sweet recipes, Sophie literally turned their Victoria sponge into a berry tree and it was beautiful, I’m positive her mum would have been proud!
This was the last cake I made and shot beside a huge Victorian sized window (tear). The house itself was literally falling apart, unlike this squeaky clean and cream one. The photos oh here might be darker from now on, but behind it all, I think we’ll be much happier.

If anyone has any tips for shooting in low light I’d be so grateful!
I’ve had this hazelnut and dulce de leche quadruple layer chocolate cake indexed from the Aussy Delicious magazine for a good year now, but I was pretty sick of hazelnuts after baking this flourless chocolate cake for the fifth time. So I scattered in a good handful of sweet coconut and it added chewiness and taste to the cake likened to a Bounty bar.
Yes it is just another chocolate cake, but it is positively spruced up with creamy cashews, generous spreads of dulce de leche and a very buttery chocolate icing. Just promise you’ll do a better job at decorating it for Mother’s Day.
Chocolate and Coconut Cake with Dulce De Leche and Cashews

411g dulce de leche (1 ½ tins)
170g unsalted butter, softened
350g light brown sugar
375g plain flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
500ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g sweetened shredded coconut
3 eggs, separated

200g dark chocolate
225g unsalted butter, softened
250g icing sugar
1 tpsp buttermilk

170g dark chocolate
100g cashew nuts

Note: This recipe actually yields 4 cake layers, I may have muffed up the top layer (hence the slightly questionable appearance) so I had to chuck the top cake. Whatever you do, do not put the widest cake layer at the top because the chocolate will drip all over the place, not all seductively as it should.

Make the cakes. Preheat oven to 170 C and line two 7” cake pans with baking paper. Melt chocolate over double boiler and set aside. Beat butter and sugar until pale. Add the yolks one by one followed by the melted chocolate. Pour vanilla into buttermilk. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the flour and buttermilk to the chocolate mixture in thirds, alternating between the two. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, fold them into the chocolate mixture and divide the batter among the pans. Divide mixture among pans. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool cakes.

Make the icing. Melt chocolate over double boiler. Beat butter, buttermilk and icing sugar in a freestanding mixture on high speed until light and fluffy (3 minutes). Pour the melted chocolate in whilst the mixer is still running and mix until fully incorporated.

Melt the rest of the chocolate (170g) over a double boiler.

Assemble the cake. Split the cakes horizontally using a serrated knife and brush away the crumbs (there will be a lot!). Place the first layer on a cake plate and spread a quarter of the chocolate icing on top, then spread a quarter of the dulce de leche. Place the second layer on top and repeat – same with the third. Place the last cake on top and spread with the melted chocolate, letting it drip to the sides. Sprinkle with cashews and leftover coconut. Lasts for 3 days if kept covered.
Thank you to mum, Russell, aunties, uncle and cousins for helping us move.

What will you be baking on Mother's Day?
Love Em xx
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