A decadent chocolate cake heavily slathered with buttercream and studded with mandarin segments makes the ultimate chocolate-citrus combination any crowd can’t resist.
Jamie’s One Pan Wonders premiered on BBC Lifestyle on Monday, 27 February at 7.25pm on StarHub channel 423, Singtel channel 255 and BBC Player.
Ingredients
- 450 g soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 650 g icing sugar
- 4 large free-range eggs
- 250 g self-raising flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 75 g cocoa powder
- 1 x 300 g tin of mandarin segments in juice
- 150 g light cream cheese
Steps
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease a 25 cm x 30 cm roasting tray and line with a sheet of damp greaseproof paper.
In a food processor, blitz 250 g each of butter and icing sugar, then crack in the eggs, add the flour, baking powder, 50 g of cocoa, and a splash of juice from the mandarin tin, and blitz again until smooth.
Use a spatula to gently spoon the mixture into the tray in an even layer, and bake for 20 mins, or until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven, leave for 5 mins, and lift out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the buttercream. In the processor, blitz the remaining 200 g of butter and 400 g of icing sugar until pale and fluffy, then pulse in the cream cheese, loosening with a splash of mandarin juice, if needed.
Drain the mandarin segments and place on kitchen paper. On a serving board, carefully cut the cool cake through the middle to give you two large flat rectangles (I like to use a bread knife and run it under the hot tap first to help get a smooth cut).
Spread a third of the buttercream over one of the cakes, dot over the mandarin segments, and sit the other cake on top. Trim the edges for a smart finish, if you like (you can call the offcuts chef’s treat!).
Pulse the last 25 g of cocoa into the remaining buttercream, and use it to decorate the top of the cake, making dips and peaks with the back of your spoon.