Epic Candy Bar Layer Cake

Layers of chocolate sour cream cake, malted chocolate frosting, salted caramel and chopped-up mini candy bars. This is the birthday cake of my dreams. 

                        

2 ¾ ounces butter
8 ½ fluid ounces (1 cup) brewed coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or good-quality natural vanilla extract)
12 ounces (1 ½ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
6 ½ ounces (1 ¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
3 ounces (¾ cup) unsweetened (Dutch) cocoa powder
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Pinch of salt
9 ounces (1 cup) sour cream
3 eggs

Malt frosting8 ounces butter, softened
5 ½ ounces (1 ½ cups) malted drink powder (Ovaltine or Horlicks)
13 ounces (3 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar
5 ½ ounces dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), melted and cooled slightly
1 ½ ounces sour cream

To decorate½ batch Salted Caramel (see below), completely cooled
Chopped mini candy bars, to decorate (Snickers, Twix, Mars, Maltesers, M&Ms or Peanut Butter Cups are good choices)

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and line three 7 inch round springform cake tins. Put the butter, coffee and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until the butter is melted. Put the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together (you might want to sift the cocoa if it’s super lumpy). Add the coffee–butter mixture, sour cream and eggs and whisk until everything is combined. Divide the mixture between the three tins and bake for 20–25 minutes or until the cakes spring back when touched lightly. Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes in the tins, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Use a serrated knife to level off the cakes, if they’re domed.

To make the malt frosting, put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until light and creamy. Add the malted drink powder and icing sugar and beat again until incorporated – it may look a little dry, but that’s OK. While mixing on low speed, stream in the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated. Finally, beat in the sour cream. To assemble, place a layer of cake on a stand and dollop on a third of the frosting. Spread it messily across. Drizzle with a little salted caramel and scatter over some chopped candy bars. Repeat with the next 2 layers, finishing with a final scattering of candy pieces. If you need to, anchor the cake with a few skewers. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Salted Caramel

I know it’s hardly original, but this stuff is just so good, and so useful in the kitchen. This is my fail-safe recipe. The sugar is, of course, boiling hot, so give it your full attention. Don’t touch it and be very careful. This recipe makes 13 ½ fluid ounces.