Coffee Sponge Cream Cake

NANDO'S Birthday cake - we celebrated Nando's birthday tonight and it was so nice to see our beautiful family again and get together with everyone. The cake itself was made over 3 days, the decorating took a couple of hours this afternoon but Anthony and I perservered and we were very happy and enjoyed just being creative together. It's a sponge cake soaked in coffee and Tia Maria liquor then filled with layers of vanilla and chocolate pudding, top and side covered with cream and decorated with chocolate shards and ganache. ENJOY !

INGREDIENTS

Cake
6 eggs (61g)
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 ½ cups self-raising flour, sifted

Filling
2 pkts vanilla pudding
700ml full cream milk
700mls x 2 thickened cream
150 mls thickened cream, extra, whipped
3 tab “Cadbury” chocolate drinking powder, sifted

9 coffee cups Italian coffee
(made with 1 x 6 Italian Coffee Machine and 1 x 3 Italian Coffee Machine)
2 tab sugar
1 ½ capful Tia Maria Liquor

Decorations
As preferred using dark and white chocolate

METHODS

Cake – 1st Day
Start the cake 3 days before require. Preheat oven at 180oC. Butter and flour a 23 cm cake tin and set aside. Separate egg yolks from white. Place egg whites in bowl of electric mixture and beat until soft peaks form. Add egg yolks all at once along with the sugar and beat again with electric mixer until incorporated. Stir flour in batches (3/4 cup at a time) with a wooden spoon stirring slowly but thoroughly in the same direction as beaten by mixer. Pour mixture into cake tin and slowly place in oven. Bake at 180oC for 53 mins. Turn oven off and leave in oven for 5 minutes before removing from oven. Allow to sit for a few minutes before inverting the cake onto a cake rack. Allow to cool completely and place in air tight container until the next day for filling.

Filling – 2nd Day

Cut the cake into 2 parts giving you 3 layers. Place bottom layer onto serving plate. Place a bottomless springform cake tin on top of cake and clip in place. This will allow the cake to set within the cake tin and will be removed after the cake has been set and just before decorating which is on day 3. Set aside the other 2 cake layers until required.

Make Italian coffee and pour into medium bowl. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Allow to cool to room temperature and add the Tia Maria. Divide the coffee into 3 glasses to allow even soaking between layers. Set aside.

Assembling Cake
Pour 350ml milk and 350ml cream into bowl of electric mixer. Sprinkle contents of 1 pkt of vanilla pudding onto the milk mixture. Beat with electric mixer until stiff. Mixture will stiffen even more upon sitting. Take 2 large tablespoons of the mixture and place into a small bowl and set aside (this will be used for the last layer). Sprinkle the drinking chocolate onto the vanilla pudding and stir to combine – this will make the chocolate pudding. Set aside.

Using one glass of coffee and with a spoon pour coffee mixture evenly over bottom layer of cake. Spread the chocolate pudding evening over this 1st layer.

Place the 2nd layer of cake onto the chocolate pudding and repeat the coffee soaking using the 2nd glass of coffee.

Pour another 350ml milk and 350ml cream into bowl of electric mixer. Sprinkle contents of 2nd pkt of vanilla pudding onto the milk mixture. Beat with electric mixer until stiff. Mixture will stiffen even more upon sitting. Take another 2 large tablespoons of the mixture and place into the bowl with the other 2 tab vanilla pudding and set aside (remember this will be used for the last layer). Take the vanilla pudding and spread evenly over the 2nd layer of cake.

Place the 3rd layer of cake over the vanilla pudding and repeat the coffee soaking using the 3rd glass of coffee.

Finally, spread the vanilla pudding in the small bowl (which has 4 tab of vanilla pudding in it) over the 3rd layer of cake.

Cover with “Gladwrap” and place in fridge overnight.

Decorations – 3rd Day

Unclip the springform pan and spread the sides and top with cream (extra). Decorate as desired.