Haigh's Chocolates Make Haigh's Chocolate Speckle Marble Cake

MODERATE 16 SERVES 30 MINS PREP 45 MIN COOKING

Haigh’s chocolate speckles are loved by many, so were the obvious choice for a birthday cake. This delicious and fun chocolate marble cake will appeal to the inner child in all of us and makes a wonderful celebration piece for any age. It’s simple to make, only takes 30 minutes to cook and the chocolate speckles are guaranteed to put smiles on everyone’s faces.

Ingredients

Marble Cake

150g Haigh dark pastilles, roughly chopped
1¼ cups (310ml) buttermilk
250g unsalted butter, diced
1 1/3 cup (295g) caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 extra-large eggs
2 ¼ cups (335g) self-raising flour
½ teaspoon salt flakes
440g Haigh’s milk chocolate speckles,
to decorate

Buttercream

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups (480g) icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan-forced). Lightly grease 2 x 20cm round cake tins and line bases with baking paper.
Place chocolate and ¼ cup buttermilk in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, off the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until melted.
Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until soft and creamy. Add sugar and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well until each is combined.
With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour, followed by a 1/3 cup of the buttermilk beating gently to combine. Repeat process with remaining flour and buttermilk. Place 2 cups of batter in a large bowl and add melted chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. Set remaining batter aside until required.
Using a spoon, randomly place dollops of batter evenly into each prepared cake tins. Using the tip of a skewer, gently drag it through the batter to create swirls.
Place tins in preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out of the centre of each cake clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in tins for 5 minutes, before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.
For the buttercream, beat softened butter with an electric mixer until pale. Slowly add icing sugar beating until well combined. Add milk and vanilla, beating until mixture becomes light and fluffy.
To assemble cake, slice the top off one cake using a serrated knife, to create a flat base and place in the centre of a cake stand. Spread 1 cup of icing over cake base and sandwich the second cake on top, creating a two-tier cake. Spread remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake until smooth and decorate with Haigh’s milk or dark chocolate speckles.