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As you might have seen on my social media, I recently received the first-ever Bake Off Box which featured the Bake Off´s Signature Chocolate Cake! You might recognise this Signature Chocolate Cake from the opening titles of the Bake Off – the one where everyone always seems to think it looks like there is a raspberry missing! Rest assured though that when I made this cake, every inch of the top of this cake was covered with a raspberry, haha!
I think it is utterly amazing that the Bake Off Box provides you with the exact quantities of the ingredients needed to make the cake, even though the dry ingredients are already weighed for you when you receive the box! This makes it possible to bake the cake again (which I will!) and for me to share the recipe with you today!
If you want to find out more about the Bake Off Box, make sure you check out my Review of the 1st Bake Off Box from February 2021 here. I also created an unboxing and baking video related to this, which you can see below!
The Bake Off´s Signature Chocolate Cake – How To Make It
This recipe for the Signature Chocolate Cake from the opening titles of the Great British Bake Off (called Great British Baking Show in the US) is extremely easy to follow and takes very little hands-on time to make! None of the steps involved are particularly difficult, but if you want to find out more about working with chocolate and how to make a ganache, check out my Baking Basics Post on How To Master Chocolate here.
You start off by making an extremely rich and moist chocolate cake, which is sandwiched and smothered in a dark chocolate ganache and finished off with some fresh raspberries! This cake has gone down a treat and I will certainly be making it again!
This recipe is exactly the same as the one provided in February´s first-ever Bake Off Box, I have only made a slight adjustment as to what type of baking tin to use. I would recommend using a deep, 20cm round baking tin (as opposed to the shallow sandwich tins I used) to ensure a more even rise of the cakes! This is the cake tin I own and can thoroughly recommend!
Check out the Unboxing and Baking Video here:
More Great British Bake Off Inspired Recipes
I obviously love the Great British Bake Off and I have a lot more GBBO-inspired recipes on my blog! I have listed a few of my favourites below, so make sure you go and check them out!
- Paul´s Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes with Vanilla Custard
- Mary Berry´s Strawberry Fraisier Cake
- Classic Victoria Sponge Cake
- Viennese Whirls | British Baking Classic
- Mary Berry´s Bakewell Tart with Feathered Icing
- Paul´s Mini Pork Pies
- Mini Chocolate and Raspberry Sandwich Cakes
- Paul Hollywood´s Hand-Raised Chicken, Bacon and Apricot Pie
- Mary Berry´s Frosted Walnut Layer Cake
- Chocolate and Nut Baked Alaska
- Paul Hollywood´s Mini Custard Tarts
- Swiss Roll Cake with Strawberries and Cream
- Mary Berry´s Viennese Whirls | British Baking Basic
- GBBO Signature Chocolate Cake | Bake Off Box #1
- Mini Walnut and Banana Loaf Cakes | Bake Off Box #2
GBBO Signature Chocolate Cake | Bake Off Box #1
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE CAKE:
- 245g plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 400g caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 80g cocoa powder
- 250ml full-fat milk
- 130ml vegetable oil
- 230ml warm water
- 2 M eggs
FOR THE GANACHE:
- 200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 10g butter
- 300ml double cream
- 10g caster sugar
TO DECORATE:
- 300g fresh raspberries
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- 2x 20cm deep round sandwich tins (like this)
- 2 large mixing bowls
- Wire cooling rack
- Small angled palette knife
- Cake Lifter (optional)
Method:
- Lightly grease the two baking tins with a little oil and line the bases with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl and mix together, then set aside.
- Whisk together the oil, milk and warm water in a separate bowl before beating in the two medium eggs.
- One third at a time, add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing well between each addition, until everything is well incorporated.
- Evenly divide the cake batter between the two prepared baking tins. Bake the cakes in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean.
- Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for a few minutes, before removing them from the tin and placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the ganache, put the dark chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl. Pour the cream into a small saucepan, stir the caster sugar and gently heat until just below boiling point. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and cover the bowl with a large plate. Leave to sit for about a minute, before stirring the cream and chocolate to make a smooth and glossy ganache. Leave the ganache to cool and thicken at room temperature for about 20-60 minutes, or until it has reached a spreadable consistency.
- Remove the baking paper from the cooled cakes and place one sponge onto your serving plate/cake stand. Spread a few tablespoons of the ganache over the top of the cake and smooth the top using a small palette knife or the back of a metal spoon.
- Place the second sponge on top, with the flat side facing upwards and press down gently to ensure you end up with a level surface. Cover the sides and top of the cake with the remaining ganache. Create some swirls in the ganache around the sides of the cake to give it some texture.
- Decorate the top of the cake with the fresh raspberries and leave the cake to set for 20-30 minutes before serving.
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