Rosie’s Easter Nest Chocolate Cake

Chocolate seems to be on everyone’s mind at Easter time and this recipe I am sharing with you has been one I have been baking for many years now since the age of 11 yrs. I first remember baking this at school and bringing my cake eagerly home to show my mum, gosh I felt so proud of my accomplishment. Like I have said before, food revokes fond memories of places and time.

This cake is basically a chocolate Victoria sponge, sandwiched in the middle with chocolate buttercream with the top of one sponge having a hole cut out to make a nest. The top and sides of the cake are smothered in chocolate buttercream. Cadbury’s flakes are used chopped up to represent twigs in the nest and sugar coated chocolate eggs with little yellow furry chicks are placed sat on the eggs for finishing touches.

Rosie’s Easter Nest Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
200g (7 oz) self-raising flour
25g (1 oz) cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
225g (8 oz) softened butter
225g (8 oz) caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
For The Chocolate Butter Icing
450g (1lb) icing sugar
25g (1 oz) cocoa powder
50g (2 oz) softened butter
90ml (3 fl oz) milk
For Decoration
2 chocolate Cadbury’s flakes- cut into twigs
Sugar coated chocolate eggs, I used Cadbury’s mini eggs
Fluffy yellow chicks
A 23cm (9 in) cake board

You will also need x 2 20cm (8 in) sandwich tins greased lightly with butter and greaseproof paper based lined, you will also need a 10 cm (4 in) round cutter to cut out the centre of the top sponge.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together into a bowl and place aside. In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs together with the milk and vanilla extract in a jug and add a little at a time to the butter mixture, beating until all incorporated. Add the flour mixture and fold through gently with a large metal spoon until fully combined. Divide the mixture equally between the two sandwich tins and smooth the mixture over with a spatula. Place into the preheated oven to bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until fully baked and feeling firm to a gentle touch in the centre. You can also test by inserting a skewer into the centre of the sponge and it should come out clean. Leave in the tins to cool for at least 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finishing cooling. When completely cold remove the base papers.

Make the chocolate icing by beating all the ingredients together until light and fluffy.

Taking one of the cold sponges cut out a hole in the middle with the round cutter. Place the bottom sponge on a cake board and spread a little of the chocolate buttercream over smoothing it to cover the whole area of the sponge. Place the top sponge on and spread the chocolate buttercream over the top and sides making sure the centre is fully covered in buttercream too. Place the chopped Cadbury’s flakes around the top of the cut out centre to form the nest, then place the sugar coated chocolate eggs in the nest. Finishing off by placing the fluffy yellow chicks sat on the eggs for decoration.