Christmas Pudding Chocolate Cake

If you're anything like me and not really a fan of the traditional Christmas pudding; ya know, the thing your Mum or Dad nearly sets fire to the dinner cloth with when they over-do it with the brandy flame??

Yeah that... if so, then you'll definitely be a fan of this chocolatey and Malteser covered alternative! 

 

Ingredients

For the chocolate sponge:

• 150g self-raising flour
• 3 eggs 
• 180g unsalted butter, softened
• 180g caster sugar 
• 30g cocoa powder 
• 1tsp baking powder 
• 1tsp vanilla extract 
• 50g dark chocolate (melted)

For the buttercream: 

• 250g unsalted butter, softened 
• 800g icing sugar
• 45g cocoa powder 
• 3tbsp milk

For the decoration: 

• 450g Maltesers (1 and a half big boxes)
• 200g white chocolate, melted 
• 3 glacé cherries 
• 1 or 2 mint leaves 

Equipment

• 8'x4' half sphere baking tin

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/Gas Mark 5 and grease the cake tin with butter.
2. In a bowl, beat together the softened butter and caster sugar until fluffy. 
3. Add all of the other cake ingredients to the bowl ensuring to sieve in the flour and cocoa powder. Beat again until fully incorporated. 
4. Pour this mixture into your greased tin and then pop in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. TIP: If the top of the cake is getting quite dark but the cake is still uncooked in the middle, cover the top with tin foil and pop back in the oven until ready... this prevents it from burning on top. 
5. Whilst the cake is baking, make the buttercream. In another bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth and then sieve the icing sugar in... I recommend 200g at a time to prevent your kitchen becoming foggy with sugar. Continue to beat in the icing sugar until you have none left and then sieve in the cocoa powder. This is where you can add in the milk to loosen the mixture a little if it's too dense. 
6. Once the buttercream is done and the cake is cooled, cover the entire domed part of the half sphere with the chocolate buttercream and then begin sticking Maltesers onto the cake until it is fully covered. Pour the melted white chocolate directly onto the top of the cake, allowing it to form natural drips down the side of the cake. Top with the three cherries and the mint leaves. 
7. Make a cuppa, kick your legs up and enjoy this little moment of Christmassy joy!

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