Make a Layered Chocolate Fudge Cake

This is an easy, moist, dark chocolate fudge cake that tastes great with or without the frills. If you want an easy way to impress friends and family, this is the way to go!

Ingredients

 * Cake
 * 300g dark cooking chocolate
 * 250g butter
 * 1 1/2 cups (330g) brown sugar, packed
 * 2 cups (250g) plain flour
 * 4 eggs
 * Decoration 1
 * 500g chocolate
 * 3/4 cup (200ml) cream
 * Decoration 2
 * 6 tablespoons (85g) of butter or margarine (softened)
 * 1/2 (43g) cups of powdered cocoa
 * 2 2/3 cups (260g) of powdered sugar
 * 1/3 (78ml) cups of milk
 * 1 teaspoon (5ml) of vanilla
 * 1 1/4 cups (300ml) cream
 * Peppermint essence or extract

Cake

 * 1) Preheat oven to 170º C (388º F).
 * 2) [[Image:Double_boiler_chunky_85.jpg|thumb|Chocolate and Butter in double boiler|right]]Melt butter and chocolate together in a double boiler until smooth.
 * 3) [[Image:Double_boiler_smooth_881.jpg|thumb|Melting|right]]Mix in until all sugar has dissolved.
 * 4) [[Image:Mix_w_egg_936.jpg|thumb||right]] [[Image:Mix_w_flour_769.jpg|thumb||right]] [[Image:Consistancy_949.jpg|thumb|right|The mixture should have this consistency]] Add eggs one at a time, being sure to mix well between each egg. Also make sure the mixture is not too hot when you put the eggs in or they will cook. Once all the eggs are mixed in, mix in the flour gradually until it is all mixed in and smooth.
 * 5) [[Image:Mix_in_tins_700.jpg|thumb||right]] Pour equal amounts of mixture into two lightly greased cake tins.
 * 6) [[Image:Knife_clean_444.jpg|thumb|right|This cake is cooked]]Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until cooked. To check this, poke a clean knife into the centre of the cakes and if the knife comes out clean they are cooked. If not they need longer.
 * 7) Take the cakes out of the tins and place them on cooling racks.
 * 8) The cake can be eaten as is. For elegant decorations, follow the steps set out in the following sub-sections.

Decoration 1

 * 1) [[Image:Choc_sheet_190.jpg|thumb||right]]Melt 250g chocolate in a double boiler and spread flat onto baking paper on a flat tray and freeze until solid.
 * 2) [[Image:Layers_631.jpg|thumb|Layers|right]]Using a plate as a measurement, cut one of the cakes into a smaller circle. Put aside.
 * 3) [[Image:Cream_in_348.jpg|thumb||right]]Melt chocolate and cream together in a double boiler until smooth. This makes ganache.
 * 4) [[Image:Glue_layers_682.jpg|thumb||right]] [[Image:Pouring_524.jpg|thumb||right]] [[Image:Covered_868.jpg|thumb||right]]Put the small circle cake on top of the larger circle, using a small amount of ganache to “glue” the cakes together. When in place, pour ganache over cakes  until completely covered.
 * 5) [[Image:Choc_peices_756.jpg|thumb||right]] [[Image:Cake_1_fin_517.jpg|thumb|right|Finished product|right]]Take frozen chocolate and break into uneven shards.  Place shards around the edges of the layers.  The ganache will act as “glue”. Place in the fridge to let the ganache become more solid.

Frosting

 * 1) Using an electric mixer (or by hand), beat butter at medium speed until it is fluffy.
 * 2) [[Image:Frosting_mix_772.jpg|thumb|250p|right]]Add cocoa and sugar alternately with milk. Beat until the mixture is spreading consistency.
 * 3) Add vanilla and blend well. The icing should be of a consistency that can be easily spread without tearing the cake. If frosting is too thick to spread easily, add a drop or two of additional milk until frosting reaches the desired consistency.

Peppermint Cream

 * 1) [[Image:Green_in_cream_39.jpg|thumb|Colouring and essence in cream|right]][[Image:Green_cream_342.jpg|thumb|What your cream should look like|right]]Add a few drops of peppermint essence (to taste) into the cream and whip until stiff. If you want a green colour add a few drops of green food colouring.

Method

 * 1) [[Image:Green_cream_on_132.jpg|thumb||right]] [[Image:Green_cream_in_mid_557.jpg|thumb||right]]Spread peppermint cream on top of one of the cakes (leaving some for top decoration) then place the second cake on top. Do not push down.
 * 2) Ice entire cake in chocolate frosting.
 * 3) [[Image:Piping_bag_140.jpg|thumb||right]][[Image:Cake_2_fin_242.jpg|thumb|Finished product|right]]Use a piping bag to decorate the top of the cake with the remaining cream.

Warnings

 * When melting chocolate in double boiler, do not let any water get into the top boiler with the chocolate in it. This will make the chocolate go hard.
 * When adding the eggs to the cake mix, be sure the mixture has cooled first since if the mixture is still hot, it will cook the eggs.
 * When adding the peppermint essence to the cream be careful not to add too much at first as it can cause the cream to curdle.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Make Eggless Chocolate Cake
 * How to Bake a Crazy Chocolate Marshmallow Cake
 * How to Bake Red Velvet Cupcakes
 * How to Make Cake in a Mug