These cakes are a labour of love, but well worth the effort. An ingenious halved truffle makes the dome at the top. If you don’t like coffee, swap in 1tbsp vanilla bean paste into both the sponge and buttercream.
These little cakes a fiddly to make but you will be rewarded with the most delicious morsels! Perfect for any afternoon teas you may be planning this summer.
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Yields:
25
Prep Time:
1 hr
Cook Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Cal/Serv:
414
Ingredients
For the sponge
225g
unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
225g
caster sugar
4
medium eggs, beaten
225g
self-raising flour
4Tbsp.
espresso or strong black coffee, cooled
13
chocolate truffles, we used Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles, halved
For the buttercream
175g
unsalted butter, softened
175g
icing sugar
2Tbsp.
espresso or strong black coffee, cooled
For the fondant icing
1
.25kg fondant icing sugar
40g
cocoa powder
1Tbsp.
coffee liqueur, optional
Directions
Step 1Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4 and grease and line a 20.5cm square tin with baking parchment, making sure there is a little overhang. For the sponge, in a large bowl and using a handheld electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5min. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little of the flour if the mixture looks like it might curdle. Beat in the cooled espresso/coffee. Using a large metal spoon, fold in the (remaining) flour. Scrape into lined tin and smooth to level.
Step 2Bake for 30min, or until firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 5min, then transfer on to a wire rack (using the parchment) and leave to cool completely. Once cool, transfer on to a baking sheet or board (still in parchment) and freeze for 30min, to firm up.
Step 3Meanwhile make the buttercream. In a medium bowl and using a handheld electric whisk, beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar and add the espresso/coffee. Beat until pale and fluffy.
Step 4Remove the cake from the freezer and peel off the parchment. Using a large serrated knife, trim the top and sides so all edges are neat and straight. Cut the cake into 25 squares.
Step 5Using a small palette or cutlery knife, spread the top and sides of cakes with a thin layer of the buttercream, keeping the edges neat. Press 1/2 a truffle on top of each cake, cut-side down. Chill until needed.
Step 6For the fondant icing, sift the icing sugar into a large bowl. Stir in just enough water to make a very thick, but pourable icing. Spoon 50g icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle (or snip a hole in the end); set aside. Sift the cocoa powder into the remaining icing, add the liqueur, if using, and stir to combine, adding a little extra water if needed to bring back to a thick, pourable consistency.
Step 7Remove the chilled cakes from the fridge and sit on a wire rack set over a baking tray. Working 1 at a time, spoon chocolate fondant over a cake to cover and spread using a small palette knife (See GH TIPS) to ensure all the sides are coated. Repeat to cover remaining cakes (see GH TIPS). Leave to set for 10min.
Step 8Pipe over the white icing in a zigzag pattern and leave cakes to set at room temperature for 1hr. Serve.
TO STORE
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
GH TIPS
• Wetting the palette knife can help spread the fondant icing more neatly.
• If you’re running out of fondant icing, simply scoop it up from the baking tray and re-use.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
