Nigella's Malteaser Cake

Chocolate Malteaser Cake!! Nigella Lawson

This is one of my favourite cakes to make because it looks so lovely and tastes amazing! I love Nigella's cookbook called Feast where this recipt is from because there are lots of yummy cakes in there (the chocolate guiness cake is also in there) and they always turn out perfectly! Definitely give this a go.... For the cake 150g soft brown sugar, 100g caster sugar, 3 large eggs, 175ml milk, 15g unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons Horlicks powder, 175g plain flour, 25g cocoa, sieved, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, For the icing and decoration 250g icing sugar, 1 teaspoon cocoa, 45g Horlicks, 125g soft unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons boiling water, 2 x 37g packets Maltesers, Take whatever you need out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature (though it's not so crucial here, since you're heating the milk and butter and whisking the eggs.) Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3/170C. Butter and line two 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich cake tins with baking parchment. I usually use silicone tins which I don't need to line. Whisk together the sugars and eggs until light and frothy. Heat the milk, butter and Horlicks powder in a small saucepan until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Beat the milk mixture into the eggs a little at a time. Fold in the dry ingredients thoroughly. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, by which time the cakes should have risen and will spring back when pressed gently. Let them cool on a rack for about 5-10 minutes and then turn them out of their tins. Once the cakes are cold, you can get on with the icing. I use a processor just because it makes life easier: you don't need to sieve the icing sugar. So: put the icing sugar, cocoa and Horlicks in the processor and blitz to remove all lumps. Add the butter and process again. Stop, scrape down, and start again, pouring the boiling water down the funnel with the motor running until you have a smooth buttercream. Sandwich the cold sponges with half of the buttercream, and then ice the top with what is left, creating a swirly pattern rather than a smooth surface. Stud the outside edge, about 1cm in, with a ring of Maltesers or use them to decorate the top in which-ever way pleases you, I added some sparkles to mine! :) Makes 8-10 slices.