After Eights & Peppermint Double Chocolate Cake

With the Great British Bake Off and my bloggers bake along now finished for another year, *sobs* , you would think it would be a chance to wind down and relax and maybe even take a little cake making break? Ha! As if! I am still baking as much as I was during the series,  just with less direction as I have no baking themes to follow now!

However, Home Bargains contacted me again to ask me to take part in their baking challenge and how could I resist? They asked me to recreate a Chocolate and Peppermint cake recipe which they sent me along with some baking goodies, but, in typical Mummy Mishaps style, I slightly amended the recipe to add my own twist to it. As my fondant skills are not the best, I opted to top the cake with white chocolate and crushed peppermint candy canes instead.

Also, rather than melting After Eight Mints to make the icing, I added them whole to the cake batter instead

Here is how I made my After Eights & Peppermint Double Chocolate Cake

Serves 10
Cooking time : 40-45 minutes
Ingredients:
175g unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate
225g self raising flour
25g cocoa powder
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
After Eight Mints – approx 16
*Cake Topping*
100g white chocolate
3 peppermint candy canes

Method:
pre heat the oven to 180oC / 160oC (fan)
grease and line a loaf tin (or you could use a silicone one as I did)
place the butter and dark chocolate in a saucepan and melt gently over a medium heat, stirring often
leave to cool for 5 minutes
place all of the dry ingredients and the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the melted chocolate mixture and beat in for a few minutes
pour half of the cake batter into your tin
then add the After Eight Mints along the top of the batter , have them stood up
pour the remaining cake batter over the top, and smooth over
place in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes until cooked right through
leave to cool completely before removing from your tin and adding your chocolate topping
*the topping*
melt the white chocolate and while it cools slightly, crush the candy canes
coat the top of the cake with the chocolate and then scatter the candy cane pieces over top

 

This was a great tasting minty cake, and the melted After Eight Mints made for a chewy almost caramelised taste inside each slice of cake. This would be a great cake to make for the festive season, or to make after Christmas with any left over After Eights and Christmas chocolate!

I was sent a section of fab baking products from Home Bargains for the purpose of taking part in their baking challenge. I visit Home Bargains a lot so was more than happy to join in 🙂