Chocolate Easter Nest Cakes
Recipes

Chocolate Easter Nest Cakes

Easter will be all the sweeter for these scrumptious little nests of chocolate heaven. Chocolate sponge, swirled with chocolate frosting...

Ingredients

  • 200g plain flour 
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/2 tsp salt 
  • 300g caster sugar 
  • 50g cocoa powder 
  • 80ml vegetable oil 
  • 1 large egg, beaten 
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 200ml milk 
  • 2 tsp coffee granules or powder 
  • just-boiled water 

For the frosting

  • 100g butter, softened 
  • 200g icing sugar 
  • 20g cocoa powder 
  • 3 tbsp warm water 

To decorate

  • 2 flaked chocolate bars, crumbled 
  • sugar-coated mini chocolate egss 

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cocoa powder.
  2. Beat together the oil, egg, vanilla extract and milk. Dissolve the coffee granules or powder in the boiled water and add to the oil mixture. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well.
  3. Pour the mixture into a large jug, then share evenly between the holes of the mini sandwich tin. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a fine skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out carefully. Cool completely on a wire rack.
  4. To make the frosting, beat the butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder and warm water together until smooth and creamy. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. If necessary, trim the tops off the cakes to level them slightly, then pipe the chocolate frosting around the top edges of the cakes to make them look like nests.
  5. Sprinkle the frosting with flakes of chocolate, then fill the ‘nests’ with mini chocolate eggs.