Friday, May 1, 2026

Queer Eye of the IT Guy

Random thoughts about Food, Tech, Work & Culture and Inclusion

A layered cake with a chocolate butter cream, caramel and chocolate ganache
Food

Chocolate Caramel Cake

Ian

This rich moist cake is perfect for a birthday celebration or as a centre-piece dessert for a dinner party.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 175g Self Raising Flour, sifted
  • 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder, sifted
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
  • 150g Golden Caster Sugar
  • 150ml Sunflower Oil
  • 2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp Golden Syrup
  • 150 ml Milk

Chocolate Buttercream

  • 125g Butter, softened
  • 210g Icing Sugar, sifted
  • 40 g Cocoa Powder, sifted

For the caramel sauce, you can make your own or use a store bought option like this one from Waitrose.

Chocolate Ganache

  • 200g Chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 300ml Double Cream

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C Fan) or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Prepare & line the tin(s).
  3. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, sodium bicarb and sugar.
  4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the oil, eggs, syrup and milk. Beat well until you have a smooth .
  5. Add the mixture to your tin(s) and bake for around 25-30 minutes if using individual tins, or around 50 minutes if using one big tin.
  6. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes before turning out.
  7. Make the buttercream by mixing together the icing sugar and cocoa powder, and slowly beating this in to the softened butter. Add the sugar/cocoa mix a little at a time, to avoid creating a cloud of powdered sugar. If the icing feels a little too stiff, progressively beat in a few drops of milk until you reach the desired consistency. Set aside.
  8. Make the ganache: add the chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl. Gently heat the cream in a saucepan and slowly bring to the boil. Quickly remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate, whisking until the chocolate has melted and you have a glossy, smooth mixture. Set aside to cool.
  9. Assemble the cake – if you make one big one, you will need to cut into three sections. Carefully spread the chocolate buttercream over the top of the bottom layer, then place the middle section of cake on top. Spread the caramel sauce on the top of the middle layer, being careful not to get too close to the edge. Gently add the top layer of cake. Leave to settle slightly.
  10. Once the ganache is soft-set, spread it over the cake and then leave the cake in a cool place to serve.