Matilda Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Spray a loose-bottomed cake tin with nonstick spray, then line the base with baking paper.

3. Cream brown sugar and butter together on high speed for about 8–10 minutes using an electric whisk, or until pale in colour and sugar granules have dissolved into butter.

4. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating before adding the next egg.

5. Whisk in buttermilk and coffee until combined. (The mixture will become slightly grainy, but it will be fixed once added to dry ingredients, so don’t worry.)

6. Sift flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together in a large mixing bowl and add salt.

7. Fold wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined.

8. Stir through melted chocolate and pour batter into prepared cake tin.

9. Bake for 45–55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

10. Remove from oven, place on a wire rack and cool completely in the cake tin.

11. Prepare a second cake, if making stacked layer cake.

12. For ganache, combine the melted butter and chocolate together and mix well. Melt for another 1-2 minutes in the microwave, stirring at 30-second intervals, until mixture completely smooth.

13. Once melted, add remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. Cool at room temperature for 1–2 hours, or until thick and spreadable.

14. Once cakes are cooled completely, cut each cake in half horizontally to create 4 layers.

15. Spread about ⅓ cup icing on the top side of each cake layer, then stack them on top of each other.

16. Coat the outside of cake with a thin layer of the ganache, then chill in the fridge for 15 minutes until firm. (This is called a crumb coating and will prevent crumbs from mixing into ganache icing.)

17. Spread remaining ganache all over cake.

18. Slice using a cake or bread knife and serve.

Good idea
Making the cake ahead of time? Place cake in an airtight tin or plastic cake dome and store in a cool, dark place for up to a day before serving.