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Easter Speckled Egg Drip Cake
Benchi

Easter Speckled Egg Drip Cake

Three layers of pastel coloured vanilla sponge, vanilla speckled egg buttercream, chocolate ganache drip, mini eggs
Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 16
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 1081

Ingredients
  

Ingredients
  • 500 g Baking spread (softened, unsalted)
  • 500 g Caster sugar
  • 9 large Eggs
  • 3 tbsp Milk
  • 3 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 500 g Self raising flour
  • Pink food colouring (I used Pro Gel)
  • Purple food colouring (I used Pro Gel)
  • Yellow food colouring (I used Pro Gel)
  • 550 g Butter (softened, unsalted)
  • 1100 g Icing sugar
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • Blue food colouring (I used Pro Gel)
  • 5-6 tbsp Milk (or more if needed)
  • 140 g Passion fruit curd, lemon curd, or jam (optional)
  • 0.25 tbsp Cocoa powder
  • 0.25 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp Water (you may not need all of it)
  • 65 g Dark chocolate
  • 75 ml Double cream
  • 75 g Dark chocolate
  • 1 tsp Vegetable oil
  • 16 (50g) Mini Eggs
  • Chocolate strand sprinkles

Equipment

  • Cake tins
  • Electric mixer
  • Cooling racks
  • Piping bag
  • Palette knife

Method
 

Instructions
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line three 8" cake tins (that are at least 2" deep)
  2. Make the sponge by mixing the baking spread and caster sugar together in a large bowl, ideally using an electric mixer, for 3-5 minutes until creamy and fluffy looking
  3. Add the eggs, vanilla extract and milk, and whisk until fully incorporated
  4. Add the self raising flour and whisk in until you can't see any flour anymore
  5. Divide the mixture between three bowls, use scales for accuracy
  6. Add purple food colouring to one bowl, pink to the second and yellow to the third. You're aiming for a light pastel shade so add a little at a time
  7. Put each mixture into it's own cake tin, then bake them for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave them to fully cool either in the tins or remove from the tin and place on cooling racks
  8. To make the buttercream mix the butter on it's own for a few minutes, then add the icing sugar (which you may need to add in batches) the vanilla extract and milk, and mix until smooth. Use an electric mixer for best results. If the buttercream is too stiff then you can add more milk to it
  9. Then colour the buttercream using blue food colouring, you're aiming for a pastel duck egg blue colour so add a little at a time until you're happy
  10. If the cakes have domed on top, level them off with a cake leveller or a knife
  11. Put one of the sponges on a decorating turntable and spread buttercream all over the sponge. Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the sponge using a round piping nozzle
  12. Fill in the centre of the sponge with some passion fruit or lemon curd, then add the next sponge on top
  13. Do the same again - spread buttercream over the second sponge, pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge, and add the fruit curd, then add the final sponge on top
  14. Use buttercream to fully crumb coat the cake, then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up
  15. Coat the cake with a second and thicker layer of buttercream and smooth it out as best you can using a buttercream scraper/smoother tool. Then put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes to set
  16. Make the paint for the speckled egg effect by mixing the cocoa powder, vanilla and enough water together to make a thin liquid. You may not need all of the water, so add a little at a time
  17. Dip a clean, food safe paint brush into the cocoa powder paint. Hold the paint brush close to the cake and use the tip of your finger to flick the bristles so the paint splatters onto the cake. Carry on moving around the cake and splattering the paint, re-dipping the brush into the paint as required, until you are happy
  18. To make the dark chocolate ganache chocolate drip, put the ingredients into a bowl and microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. Continue microwaving in 10 second blasts, stirring between each blast, until melted and smooth
  19. OR To make the cheat's dark chocolate drip, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue microwaving in 10 second blasts, stirring between each blast, until melted and smooth. Stir in the vegetable oil
  20. Put your chosen chocolate drip mixture into a piping bag or squeezy bottle, if using a piping bag snip a small section off the end with scissors
  21. Pipe blobs of ganache around the edge of the cake, allowing the chocolate to drip down the sides in varying amounts
  22. Once the drips are complete, cover the whole top of the cake with chocolate ganache and use a palette knife to smooth it out. Put the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes for the ganache to set
  23. Put the remaining buttercream into a piping bag with your chosen nozzle and pipe swirls all around the edge of the cake
  24. Decorate with mini eggs and sprinkles
  25. Move the cake onto a serving plate or cake stand, and dig in! Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for 2-3 days