The ULTIMATE triple chocolate cake!

Have you been searching for the perfect choclate fudge cake? Well this is the recipe for you! A super simple and easy recipe to make, never mind absolutely DELICIOUS!

Chocolate fudge cake is by far my favourite cake, it's super versatile and can be served hot or cold, with cream, ice cream, the options are endless for this irresistible desert! For this cake, I took inspiration from one of my favourite cookie flavours, the triple chocolate cookie! Who else loves a triple chocolate cookie? They are the ultimate cookie, flavours of each chocolate, and the ones I used had a layer of dipped chocolate on the bottom!

I first thought of the idea for this cake when my mum told me we had a lot of chocolate that needed using up! After a lot of tweaks and changes to the recipe, I think it's ready to go! This is definitely an indulgent treat, I do a two layered cake but you can half the recipe to do one layer or make them into cupcake form!

In my cake, I used 3 different icings which included a milk choclate ganache, a white choclate ganache and a dark choclate buttercream. I loved this combo, however you can of course mix and match the icings to your preference or the ingredients that you have.

HOW I DECORATED MINE...

My photo-ed cake is constructed of one tier of dark chocolate fudge cake, topped with milk chocolate ganache and another tier of cake. For the outside of the cake I first covered it in a dark chocolate ganache and then added dollops of white chocolate ganache which I marbled into the cake using a cake scraper but this could also be done with a knife or long spatula. To pipe on the decorations I mixed the remaining icing together and used a star nozzle to pipe around the bottom rim of the cake. For the top of the cake I used the same nozzle and piped larger swirls ( I find it is helpful to practice on a plate before the cake). Finally I halved some gluten free triple chocolate cookies and placed these flat side down on the top of the larger swirls. I find that it is helpful to refrigerate the cake after the dark chocolate buttercream and before the white chocolate ganache, to prevent the layers mixing.

This is the method I used to do mine, but get creative, this cake is super versatile. You can choose whichever mix of icing suits you best, however make sure you have enough to cover and fill your cake. The quantity's below are for the method I used and I still had some icing left over. Both the dark and milk chocolate icings by themselves will be enough to cover your cake and fill however if you wanted to do just white chocolate ganache you will need to increase the quantity in the ratio 3 parts white chocolate to 1 part cream.

I PROMISE, this cake is super easy to make and is a great showstopper pudding for when we can have friends round again, I have been loving to bake during lockdown 3.0 and have been experimenting with a bunch of new recipes as I am getting a bit more time to do do now!

One of the main utensils I used to create this cake was a cake scraper, but if you don't have one you could try using a knife or long spatula however if you want a really smooth icing with the marbled affect the scraper is the best piece of equipment to use in my opinion.

And of course I used piping bags for the star shaped embellishments which can be found at quite low prices in most supermarkets. However it is not a necessity, you can use a plastic bag with a very small hole cut in the corner if you wish to do piping work.

Not only is this cake a perfect Sunday bake, it would be an amazing cake for a celebration such as a birthday! What have you guys been doing for lockdown birthdays? I know that good food was a big part of my day, and there's no better present than time and love put into something for someone you care about!

SOME QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE...

Can I make this cake dairy free?

In the sponge there is milk, chocolate, cocoa powder and butter which would all need to be substituted for dairy free alternatives. As well as the 2 ingredients in ganache are cream and chocolate so these will also need to be substituted for a dairy free alternative. However I have not experimented with a dairy free alternative but I encourage you to get creative and have fun especially due to the current circumstances.

Can I make this cake vegan?

You would need to make all the dairy substitutes mentioned above as well as replacing the egg in the cake with an egg replacement. Again I have not tried experimenting with a vegan recipe but get creative and try it out, experiment with some egg replacements and discover what you think works for you.

Do I need any special equipment?

Some of the main equipment I used for this cake was a cake scraper and piping bags but alternatives to these can be used and examples are listed above. However I do encourage you use a weighing scale to measure out your ingredients as I find this more accurate to measure the ingredients in grams rather than converting the measurements into cups.

How do you decorate yours?

The directions are listed above and I will write them out in the recipe too! Don't follow mine if you don't want to tho, you could use 1 of the icings or two or all 3 like I have but get creative and have fun! Don't worry about it being perfect!

If you have any more questions feel free to drop me a message in the contact me section of this page or head over to my instagram and comment on the post with the photo of this cake and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can!

THE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

CAKE: DARK CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM:

220g Gluten free self raising flour 110g Melted dark chocolate

350g Butter, softened 55g Cocoa powder, sifted

4 Eggs 185g Icing sugar, sifted

110g Cocoa powder 250g Butter, softened

350g Caster suger

2 tbsp Milk

1tsp Zanthem gum

1 tsp Baking powder

1 tsp Vanilla

50g Dark chocolate, melted

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE: MILK CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

185g White chocolate 292g Milk chocolate

61g Double cream 292g Double cream

DECORATION:

To decorate I also used 1 pack of gluten free triple chocolate cookies, halved

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 fan and grease two round tins, cutting a circle of greaseproof paper or tinfoil (the size of the base of your pan) and grease this to the bottom of the pan. ( I use a 20 cm by 20 cm round tin)

2. Cream together the butter and the sugar using a stand mixer or handheld electric one until all the sugar is mixed in and the mixture is light and fluffy ( you can do this with a wooden spoon, it might just take a little bit longer!)

3. Add the vanilla, milk and one egg to the batter and beat this in using a whisk or hand held electric whisk until smooth ( if doing this in a standing mixer make sure to stir the mixture to incorporate all of the ingredients while it is mixing). Repeat this with the other 3 eggs, beating them in one at a time.

4. Sieve the remaining ingredients into a separate bowl aside from the melted chocolate.

5. Pour the melted chocolate into your wet mixture and whisk in until combined.

6. Using a spatula fold the dry ingredients into your wet mixture ( it is very important that this is folded into the mixture, do not whisk in the dry ingredients!).

7. Once your mixture is thoroughly combined, separate it into your 2 cake tins, (you can weigh these so that they are exactly even, but I go by eye) and smooth out the top of the cakes so that they are level (make sure not to press down too hard as you still want them to rise)

8. Bake the cakes in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean

9. Leave the cakes in their pans to cool for 10 minutes and then take them out and place on a tray or plate to cool completely

10. Whilst the cakes are cooling make your chosen icing. For either of the ganaches heat your cream in a saucepan until piping hot and pour over your chocolate, stirring constantly until smooth (if lumps are present heat in the microwave until smooth)

11. Let the ganache sit until the cakes are cool

12. For the buttercream: beat together the butter and sifted icing sugar using an electric or standing mixer, once combined beat in the sifted cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth. Lastly add in the melted chocolate and mix until combined.

13. Decorate your cakes with your chosen icing by smoothing onto the top of one cake placing the other on top and spread the icing around the edges of the cake and decorate however you wish! If you want to do my decoration hear is how I did it:

HOW I DECORATED MINE:

1. Spread the milk chocolate ganache onto the top of one cake and the place the other cake on top of this and scrape the sides to get rid of any excess ganache (make sure to save this In a bowl). Using a cake scraper and spoon place spoonfuls of the buttercream onto the cake and spread it until it covers the whole of the cake in an even layer

2. Place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to let the icing firm up so that it does not mix with the next layer. Once out of the fridge pipe or use a teaspoon to place small dollops of the white chocolate ganache onto the cake and scrape until a marble affect (make sure not to over scrape as it will mix in with the buttercream)

3. Mix the remaining icings together and using a star nozzle on a piping bag pipe small stars around the bottom rim of the cake

4. On the top of the cake pipe larger stars (I do 11 around the edge of the cake with small spaces in between them)

5. Finally half your favourite gluten free triple chocolate cookies and place them straight side down on top of each large star on the top of the cake

6. Slice and enjoy!

So there you go, my triple chocolate cake recipe! If you do make this cake be sure to take a photo and tag me @rubysgfkitchen as I'd love to see your creations!

Happy baking!

Ruby xx

Banana muffins

These banana muffins are the perfect snack or breakfast option as they are super quick to make and an easy way to use up ripe bananas! I love to add in walnuts raisins and apricots to mine as this adds some varied texture as well as providing added moisture. These muffins have no flour so no special gluten free flour is necessary which can be expensive. The muffins are also refined sugar free as well as dairy free with super simple ingredients and an easy recipe you could have a delicious muffin in 15 minutes!

Using ground almonds which are naturally gluten free provide these muffins with a slight nutty flavour complementing the banana!

With super versatile and adaptable ingredients these muffins are the perfect option to use up ingredients and can be altered to suite your tastebuds!

Perfect for baking with family as there super easy to make you can't go wrong, and can be varied to add choc chips to make them exiting or you could add some icing or melted choc on top!

A delicious snack to provide you with a source of energy for your day!

So lets get to some questions you might have with this recepie:

Is it dairy free?

This recepie contains no butter so make sure to use dairy free milk and your all good to go!

Is It vegan?

As long as you use a dairy free milk and use an egg substitute however I have not tried this variation so results may vary from my own.

Is there any special equipment needed?

You can mix this with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer, however you will also need a muffin tin and cases (fairy cases are fine however they will be a little smaller than muffins) and a scale to weigh out a few of the ingredients!

Is it gluten free?

Off course it is! I use ground almonds in this recepie instead of flour so your all good to go!

Is it refined sugar free?

Yes as a substitute to sugar you are provided with sweetness from the banana which is amplified by the use of maple syrup.

Is it nut free?

Sadly no as this recipe uses ground almonds as well as an optional addition of chopped nuts. However you could experiment with a gluten free self rasining flour in the place of the almonds which may also work however I have not tried this variation so your results will vary from my own.

How can I store your banana muffins?

Keep them in an airtight container for 3-4 days after baking and you could warm them through in the microwave for around 30 seconds to create a just out of the oven taste!

RECEPIE

So here it is my delicious banana muffins with optional additions to make them even more delectable.

INGREDIENTS

MAKES 12

180g Ground Almounds

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon zanthem gum

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

crack of salt

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

2 ripe bananas mashed

2 tablespoons coconut oil melted

2 tablespoons or maple syrup

2 eggs whisked

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

100ml of plant milk

roughly a cup of chopped nuts or dried fruit or a mixture of both

optional choc chips

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan and line a muffin tin with muffin cases

2. Combine the mashed banana and maple syrup together until thoroughly combined.

3. Add the milk, whisked eggs, vanilla, melted coconut oil to the banana mixture and whisk to combine until and consistent mixture is formed

4. Mix in the baking powder and soda, spice, salt, zanthem gum, ground almonds until thoroughly combined and no spots of dry ingredients is visable

5. Finally add in the chopped nuts/dried fruit and chocolate chips if using and stir these in

6. Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture into each hole of the tin and repeat this until all the batter is used and each case even in the volume of mixture

7. Bake for 15 -20 minutes or until a skewer pocked in the centre comes out clean and enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed reading this page and if you do make this recipe I would love to see how it turns out so tag me on instagram @rubysgfkitchen on a pic of your creations I'd love to see what you do with the recepie!

Happy baking,

Ruby x

My Bday food review!

So it was recently my birthday, and I had some amazing food which I thought I would share with you on here and tell you what I thought of it.

MY BREAKFAST

For breakfast I chose to try a new product that I have never tried before but really miss from when I was still eating gluten. I chose to have gluten free croissants which we found in our local Sainsbury's in a pack of two ( which is a lot less than the 'normal' ones get in a pack which are often 4 - 8). After warming them up for 10 minutes or so I spooned on some Nutella and enjoyed! They definitely lacked the flaky texture of a croissant however they did have some very defined layers which were in uniform circles. However they were still quite small (much like a lot of other gf alternatives) and dense in the middle, lacking the iconic airy texture of a 'normal' croissant. However they weren't crumbly but the outside did not get the crispy texture like a normal croissant when it was heated up.

Overall I thought that this product was good for how hard it is to do a gluten free version of a croissant. I think that I would give these a 6.5/10 as they are a good substitute but I think that are still improvements to be made.

MY SNACK

This was one of the best parts to be birthday and one of the most generous presents I've ever received, one of my beautiful friends bought me a cupcake and macaron box from collins kitchen. The cupcakes were super light and choclatly, with the macarons chewy and packed with flavour. I enjoyed 3 different flavours which were strawberry, vanilla and chocolate and all 3 blew me away! One of my favourite parts had to be the icing on the cupcakes, I just don't know how they did it! Super velvety and kept its shape without drooping like a buttercream. It was so kind of collins kitchen to do this box gluten free and personalise the label on the front and thank you so much Megan for buying me this amazing present! I definitely rate this a 10/10 no doubt it was some of the best cupcakes I've ever had!

MY LUNCH

Thank you so much to my parents as we went to an amazing restaurant called the Woodspeen for my bday this year. It was INCREDIBLE, we started with drinks were I had a fruity mocktail topped with raspberry's which was very refreshing. I began with the scallops which I found I like, so good luck to my parents bank account! They were adorned in crispy bacon pieces, with pickled carrot, and crispy chicken skin. I then had the steak with a tomato salsa and fried onion with chinky chips on the side, the chips were crispy with a fluffy potato middle, whilst the added vegetables cut through the steak and added a lighter element to the dish. After deciding on no dessert as we were all very full, I was surprised with a little almond cake topped with a super light white chocolate mouse encased in milk chocolate and sprinkled with white chocolate pieces. The Woodspeen was very good with gluten free, as they took out the elements in the dish that had gluten in them whilst offering gluten free alternatives, like the gf bread bought to the table with a garlic butter and a fiery humous.

As well as a delicious meal, I was surprised with a visit to the kitchen, and got to meet the chefs (we were all wearing masks whilst 2 meters apart) while learning how to make components of the dishes that I really enjoyed such as the crispy chicken skin. I want to say a big thank you to the Woodspeen for making this birthday one I will always remember, as well as giving me a small box of handmade chocolates as a present which was really kind!

MY CAKE

Again thank yo so much to Mrs b's kitchen for making an amazing chocolate fudge cake for me, we warmed it up and added some cream, and sat round the tv. The perfect end to my bday, thank you so much Mrs b's kitchen for making my favourite cake. The sponge was super moist and chocolatey with a rich chocolate ganache and topped with fragments of dark chocolate. Elevated by cream and a last surprise to my day it was super special! By this point we were all super full from lunch so decided to have cake for dinner, which in my opinion is the best type of dinner. Definitely a 10/10 cake and if you have not yet make sure to check out Mrs b's kitchen as they are really flexible with allergens and diertry requirments.

Thank you so much to everyone who made my b day really special, it was an amazing day filled with online calls with family and friends and amazing food!

Happy Sunday,

Ruby x