Chocolate Ganache Valentine’s Cake

The perfect recipe for Valentine's Day

Preheat oven to 160*fan
Grease and line 2 x 8” round tins
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy and light. Place all dried ingredients into a large bowl, then add butter and sugar mixture, vanilla, eggs and buttermilk and mix well. Add cooled coffee and mix well.
Divide mixture between two tins and bake for 35-40 minutes until springy to touch, or when a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn onto a cooling rack to cool.
While sponges are cooking, make the ganache. Put cream in a pan and heat until just beginning to boil then pour over chopped chocolate in a bowl. Leave for a couple of minutes before stirring to a silky ganache, pop in fridge and leave to cool until ganache is thick enough to spread.
In a bowl over a pan of simmering water, add chocolate and stir until melted.
Dip strawberries into chocolate, and scatter with freeze dried strawberry pieces and leave to set on a baking sheet or some baking paper.
Place one sponge onto a plate or cake stand, and spread a good layer of ganache all over. Top with other sponge, then spread ganache over the top and around the sides of the cake, reserving a little to pipe on top. Smooth with a knife or palette knife.
Decorate top with chocolate dipped strawberries, sliced strawberries, edible flowers and a scattering of freeze dried strawberries. Pipe little ganache stars on top, and decorate base with freeze dried strawberries.