ChoCoffee Baileys and Salted Caramel Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C fan. Prepare the filter coffee and leave to cool down.

2. Line 1x 8”, 2x 6” and 1x 4” cake tins with oil and baking paper (cover the base and sides). You will also need one cupcake case for the top layer of the cake.

3. In a medium bowl whisk together all your dry ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder) and put to one side.

4. In a large bowl add your soured cream and white wine vinegar and whisk together. Place to one side for 15 minutes to thicken.

5. Add the eggs, vanilla extract and vegetable oil to the bowl and mix well.

6. Add the filter coffee and Camp coffee extract and mix together.

7. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

8. Divide the batter evenly between the tins. Each one should have no more than one inch of cake batter.

9. Bake on the middle shelf for 30 minutes until your skewer comes out clean. The tins should all fit on one shelf (try placing one 6” tin at the back and the other in front of it, then the 8” tin at the back with the 4” to one side and the cupcake case in the middle).

10. Allow to cool completely.

Decoration
To make your salted caramel sauce:
1. Warm the sugar in a stainless steel saucepan on a medium heat. Keep stirring with a stainless steel whisk until it melts completely and is golden in colour. This will take approximately five minutes.

2. Add in the butter and whisk quickly (take care not to splash yourself with this hot liquid). Keep whisking until it starts bubbling then add in the salt. Continue whisking for a minute until it looks like the consistency of runny toffee then add in the double cream and continue whisking for a minute until it boils. Leave to one side to cool.

3. Stir the sauce occasionally while it is cooling to smooth out any imperfections. Once cooled, place in a sterilised jar or clean, dry jar, until ready to use. The longer it is left for the more it will thicken. 

To make your buttercream:
1. Mix the butter and icing sugar together on a low speed, until combined. Add the Baileys Irish Cream liqueur and mix on high speed for 5 minutes, until smooth. Repeat this process for the green buttercream and immediately place in an airtight container until ready to use.

To make your decorations:
Take a small amount of fondant or modelling paste with a drop of food colouring and mix (using disposable gloves is recommended at this point). Making the decorations at least a day in advance will help them to set and be placed immediately on the cake once the green buttercream has been piped.

To decorate:
1. Place a small amount of the uncoloured buttercream onto the centre of your cake board or cake stand. Then begin layering your cakes.

2. Start with the 8” layer. Spread some buttercream across the top and pipe buttercream around the edges to create a well. Add a tablespoon or two of salted caramel sauce to the middle.

3. Repeat this process using your 6” layers, followed by your 4” layer, then your cupcake as the top of the cake. You can trim the cupcake into a triangle shape (if you wish) to get a better tree effect at the top.

TIP! To keep the layers securely in place, add a cake dowel from the point of adding the first of the 6” layers.

4. Use your remaining buttercream to fill the gaps where the salted caramel is exposed and then add the remaining buttercream around the cake and begin smoothing out the cake into a cone shape.

5. When finished, place in fridge to set for at least one hour.

6. When the crumb coat has set, remove the cake from the fridge and begin piping your Christmas tree with the green buttercream. Use 3 or 4 different piping tips to create different effects on the tree. Start with your larger piping tips around the base of the cake then move on to the smaller piping tips. Once all areas have been covered and there is no white showing through, begin adding the fondant decorative shapes made in advance and of course the star!