“Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but Nutella and shoes seem to run a close second.”- David A Fearnhead

There it was lying on my countertop cooling. And as the Nutella posts flooded my Fb and Instagram feeds (did you know yesterday was Nutella Day!) , I couldn’t keep away from the half empty jar of Nutella in my cabinet. Out came the butter and whisk. I whisked up this American style buttercream , as it was 12 in the night and I didn’t want to wake up the neighbours with my mixer sounds (not again!) . But you please do use a mixer ! Anyways the buttercream was ready – all fluffy and light and full of hazelnutty goodness. Only problem was that , my intentionally small cake seemed too small for all that buttercream.

So I made one more . Its so easy to make you see. So , I split both cakes in two . Lathered on the Nutella, in-between and on top and all over the place. Wasn’t too neat . Apparently making layer cakes needs two qualities that I am in dear shortage of – patience and organisation. I had made a small batch of the buttercream so covering up the untidy first coat wasn’t an option. I just made some ganache ( very little again) and dumped it on top. I hoped it would flow down like the droolicious drippy cakes that I seem to everywhere. Nope. No luck there. I probably should have made a thinner ganache. I tucked the cake away in my fridge.

Morning showed me that I had a cake that was no longer as small as I planned it to be , and which looked like it was decorated by a child. At the best of times , my photography is near-miss , but with this cake I literally had nowhere to hide. But I cut a slice and it looked and tasted so delicious. Even though I didn’t plan to blog about it , I was semi proud of my midnight effort and put up a pic on social media. I cut up the rest of the cake and packed it away for work friends.

This is what happened next.

The cake disappeared in 5 minutes after the box was opened . A couple of people were even upset why I don’t make the “good ones” bigger . One wanted me to make it for her bday two weeks later. I got more likes and comments on Facebook than I have ever gotten before for a bake (yes, i admit it. Makes me happy!) . I got several emails and messages requesting the recipe .

So , after prancing around with joy (yes, I admit it. I do that too) , I sat and wrote down this post. Wishing I had taken better pictures and wishing I had kept a slice for myself to eat now!

The Small chocolate cake :

Recipe Courtesy:Bake it like a pro

You’ll need (double amounts if making two cakes like me ):

The Nutella Buttercream

You’ll need:

Assembly :

Make two chocolate cakes . Using a serrated knife , divide each horizontally into two layers. Place one layer on a plate / cake board . Spread about two tablespoons of the buttercream and spread using a spatula. Place another layer on top and repeat with all layers. Cover top and sides with the Buttercream as smoothly as possible. Pour ganache on top , if desired!

Also :

• If you want to make ganache for the top , chop up 50 grams of dark chocolate in a bowl. Boil 1/4 cup cream in a saucepan / microwave and pour over the chopped chocolate . Let rest for a minute and mix until smooth. Pour over top of cake and smooth . For more details about ganache , you may want to see this.
• For the smoothest fluffiest buttercream , use room temperature ingredients , sift sugar and add sugar little by little beating well in between.
• The frosting makes just enough to fill and coat this cake. If you want to put another coat (might be sweetness overload) or pipe , make a double batch!
• Cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or 1 week in refrigerator.
• Buttercream can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day , refrigerator for 4-5 days and freezer for 2 months.
• Get frosted cake to room temperature before serving.
• One cake with the recipe amounts given , makes a 5 inch cake that is around 2 inches tall.

 

 

So that’s the story of this cake. A small cake pan , a recipe for a good chocolate cake and some midnight Nutella craving . You could just make one cake and nosh on it at teatime . Or split and fill with ganache or this buttercream for a nice Valentine’s dessert. Or do it like I did , for a delicious layer cake. Moist chocolate cake , fluffy Nutella Buttercream , thick dark ganache . Who could say no to that!!