Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry Drip Cake

Preheat the oven to 130 degrees (fan)

Cream together the butter/margarine and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs together and add the vanilla and oil.  Add the egg mix a little at a time to the creamed butter beating well between each addition.  If the mixture starts to curdle add 1 tbsp flour from the 650g.  When all the eggs have been incorporated, add the flour and fold in until you have a smooth mixture then finally add the milk.

Divide between the two tins then bake for 1 ¼ to 1 1/2 hours until pale golden in colour and firm to the touch. Leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes then remove and leave to cool completely on wire racks.  You may want to level the tops of your cakes if they have risen during baking.

To make the buttercream – cream the butter well then add the icing sugar in three parts, beating really well between each addition. Add the strawberry powder, cream cheese frosting and the milk.  Whisk well until the cream is light, smooth and fluffy.

Use the buttercream to sandwich together the two cakes then apply a coating to the top and sides. Pop into the fridge for at least two hours to firm up.

To make the chocolate drip. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place into a heat proof jug.  Heat the double cream in a small saucepan and when it starts to form bubbles take it off the heat and pour over the chocolate in the jug.  Stir well until the chocolate has dissolved and the resulting ganache is smooth and shiny.  Allow the chocolate to cool and thicken to the consistency of custard then pour over your chilled cake and with the aid of the back of a spoon or a small angled palette knife work at steering the drips so that they are fairly uniform around your cake.

Pop back into the fridge to firm up for about 15 minutes then finish the decoration with sweets, sprinkles, macaron – the possibilities are endless..