Chocolate Coffee and Caramel Cake with Peanut Butter Mascarpone Frosting

October 04, 2015

Ok, this is not what I had in mind when I was making this cake, but let me just say, WOOOW! It's like having Snickers with your morning coffee type of cake. Heaven!

Last time I went to supermarket I bought a wrong peanut butter, you will need the smooth version for this recipe. I blended mine until semi smooth texture, but there was still a little crunch in it. On the end the frosting was actually nice but I recommend you get the smooth peanut butter.

RECIPE

12-16 servings

The Cake

30 ml freshly brewed strong espresso,
or 2 tsp instant coffee granules and 2 tbsp hot water
2 tbsp cocoa powder
175 g unsalted butter, softened
175 g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp golden syrup
200 g self-rising flour
60 ml buttermilk
2 x 50 g chocolate caramel bars, I used Mars

The Frosting

300 g peanut butter, room temperature
100 g butter, softened
1 tsp instant coffee granules
2/3 cup powdered sugar
250 g Mascarpone cheese

PRINT IT

METHOD

Make the cake. Preheat the oven to 180'C. Butter and line with baking paper two 18 cm round cake tins.
Mix espresso and cocoa powder to a smooth paste, add buttermilk and golden syrup, stir to combine. Set aside until needed.
Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time, and continue beating for a few minutes.
Alternate adding the flour and espresso mixture in small mounts at a time, and beat for 2 minutes.
Chop the chocolate caramel bars and stir into the mixture. Divide the cake batter evenly between prepared tins.
Bake the layers for 35-40 minutes, until the top springs back when you press lightly. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out, peel off the lining paper and leave to cool completely.
Make the cream. Beat peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar and the coffee granules until pale and fluffy. Add Mascarpone cheese and continue beating until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until needed.
To assemble the cake, slice each layer horizontally so you will have four tin layers for the cake.
Place first layer on a cake plate or a board. Cover the layer with an even coat of frosting. Repeat until you've covered three layers. Place the last layer on top, cut side down. Spread the remaining frosting evenly around the cake.