Mars Bar Chocolate Cake

When my son became engaged to our lovely daughter in law, I offered to make the wedding cakes. Looking back, I obviously didn't realise the enormity of that offer!

I began making chocolate cakes in November. it wasn't until my DIL's Hen's Party that I discovered THE recipe for superb chocolate cake. Her friend had made one for the event. I scrounged the recipe (thanks Mel!!) and started experimenting. The style of the cake was in a tier, a square cake on top and small square cakes in a line on the subsequent tiers. All white with black ribbon tied in a bow. The remainder of the cakes were to be cup cakes. So, I needed two chocolate cake recipes.

Since the cakes were to be covered in white fondant (another story, thank you sisters for your help), the cake needed to be firm. Mel's recipe was delicious, but too soft to be covered in fondant and too liquid for cupcakes, but the method was easy, so I looked for a cake with a similar method. I'm not a fan of mudcake, so didn't want it to be that firm. I came across a recipe on the Thermomix Recipe Community for Mars Bar Mudcake. It turned out to be the perfect consistency and was super delicious. I made a few changes, so I think I can now call it my own.

The cupcakes used a different recipe, one from forumthermomix.com called Chocolate Bimby Cake. I adapted this one also by adding some melted dark chocolate and coffee to make it richer.

Enough waffling, here's the recipe for the Mars Bar Chocolate Cake.

Mars Bar Chocolate Cake

140g dark chocolate

1 - 3 x Mars Bars (53g size)

250g butter

1 Tbsp coffee powder

200g water

Preheat oven to 150c (fan forced). Grease and line small baking dish. 

Place broken up chocolate and Mars Bars, cubed butter, coffee, sugar and water into Thermomix bowl and cook 6 minutes/560/speed 1, increasing to speed 3 as it all begins to melt.

150 grams white sugar 

350 grams SR flour 

40 grams cocoa

½ teaspoon bicarb soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

150 grams buttermilk (To make add 1 tsp of white vinegar to 150g milk. Let for 5 minutes. Stir before using.

Add to bowl and mix for around 45 seconds to a minute, starting on speed 3 and moving to speed 5 to incorporate. Scrape down occasionally.

4 eggs - room temp

Have the blades running on speed 4, add the eggs one at a time. Mix for 1 min on speed 3.

Scrape sides down. Mix again for 30 seconds, speed 4.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. 

Bake for around  1 1/4  hours or so, depending on your oven.

Leave in tin to cool a little, then turn on to a wire rack. Ice with ganache or split in half and place jam in the middle and whipped cream on top. Can also be served warm as a dessert. Pour over warmed ganache, raspberry coulis and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

I have so much chocolate cake in my freezer, it should last us a few months! The Wedding Cakes turn out well, as long as you didn't look too closely and notice the chocolate cake crumbs on the white fondant!!

Thanks to Mel for the Best Ever Chocolate Cake recipe which helped me to adapt this recipe and thanks to Nicole Carey for the original Mars Bar Mudcake recipe.

Megan