EASTER SHOWSTOPPER

Our Bake of the week is a choc charmer.

It’s Easter and, of course, that means chocolate, so we have a showstopper of a cake for you this week.

Think luscious layers of chocolate sponge, fudge cream and salted caramel. You’re welcome.

Thanks to Bonne Maman for this week’s choc-tastic creation.

You’ll need

● 330ml whole milk

● 200g milk chocolate

● 65g self-raising flour

● 200g ground almonds

● 55g cocoa powder

● 1 tsp baking powder

● 165g unsalted butter

● 45g golden caster sugar ● 230g light Muscovado sugar ● 55g Bonne Maman Salted Caramel ● 6tbsp Bonne Maman Mirabelle Plum Conserve

● 4 medium eggs, beaten

For the choc fudge cream ● 250g milk chocolate

● 150ml double cream

● 90g icing sugar

● 40g unsalted butter

● 25g Bonne Maman Salted Caramel ● 25g Mirabelle Plum Conserve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C, fan 160C, gas mark 4. Grease and line 3 x 20cm sandwich tins with non-stick baking parchment.

2. Put 100ml of the milk in a bowl with chocolate and leave to melt slowly over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, almonds, cocoa and baking powder.

3. In a large bowl and with an electric whisk, beat together the butter and sugars till very pale and smooth. Beat in 55g salted caramel. 4. Now slowly beat in the eggs, adding a spoonful of the flour mixture with each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate and fold in the remaining flour mixture.

5. Stir in remaining milk. Divide the mixture between the 3 tins and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in tins for 5 minutes then turn out on to a wire rack and spread the top of each cake immediately with 2 tablespoons of conserve.

6. For the fudge cream, put the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream until almost boiling and pour over the chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth.

7. Beat in the icing sugar, butter, caramel and conserve. Cover and leave at room temperature.

8. Layer the three cakes with half the fudge cream. Cover the whole cake with the remaining fudge cream and decorate.