My First Wedding Cake This Year

Time went by so fast. I just did a wedding cake trial run a couple weeks back in preparation  for the summer wedding season and now it has arrived. I made my first wedding cake this year. The bride specifically asked for  a two-tiered wedding cake. The top being vanilla  cake and the bottom chocolate mud cake. I suggested covering the cake with fondant to achieve a smooth  finish but I was told the bride is not a fan of white icing. The cakes were iced with vanilla frosting and accented with fresh flowers as she requested. I made it a day early so I could take my day off the following day which explains why the cake looked plain and simple. I bet it looked a lot nicer with the decoration.

Chocolate Mud Cake Recipe:
Recipe taken from Taste.com.au

530 g (2 1/2 cups) caster sugar
250 g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
250 g unsalted butter, chopped
185 ml (3/4 cup) freshly brewed strong espresso coffee
225 g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
80 g (3/4 cup) cocoa powder
100 g (1 cup) almond meal
125 g (1/2 cup) sour cream
4 eggs, lightly whisked
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

Procedure:
Brush a 22 cm spring form pan with butter. Line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.
In a heavy saucepan, place the chocolate, sugar, butter and coffee.

Cook for 4-5 minutes over low-medium heat. or just until the chocolate melts and the mixture becomes smooth.

Sift the flower and cocoa powder together. Add almond meal and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, sour cream and vanilla.

Gradually add the flour mixture and sour cream  into the chocolate mixture alternately in batches and mix until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the top from over browning. Bake in a preheated 160 degree C oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre has crumbs clinging. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding. Transfer into a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Ice with vanilla buttercream frosting.

Decorate as you wish.