Chocolate and Caramel Layered Sponge Cake

Recipe by Nicole Percy (Picture Pantry)

Ingredients

Cake
1 cup gluten free flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 eggs (size 7)
1 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence
150g butter melted

Caramel Sauce
1 cup coconut sugar
75g butter cut into small cubes
3/4 cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Chocolate Ganache
125ml cream
125g dark chocolate finely chopped

Freeze dried raspberries for decoration (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160˚C. Grease and line the base of 2x 20cm round loose bottom cake tins.
2. Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder into a bowl, set aside.
3. Put eggs, caster sugar and vanilla essence into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium/high until thick, pale and creamy about 3-4 minutes)
4. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder mix onto the egg mixture and gently fold through.
5. Fold through the melted butter.
6. Pour cake mixture evenly into cake tins and smooth tops.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, it is done when you gently press the centre of the cake and it springs back and it is starting to come away from the sides of the cake tin. While cakes are cooking make caramel sauce and chocolate ganache (recipes below)
8. Let cakes cool for 5-10 minutes then turn out to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Cut cakes in half horizontally using a serrated knife, to produce four even cake layers.
10. Place one portion of cake cut side up on a serving plate. Spread a a quarter of the chocolate ganache and a third of the caramel sauce and onto cake.
11. Repeat with remaining layers, ice top with remaining quarter of chocolate ganache and sprinkle with crushed freeze dried raspberries.

Caramel Sauce
Place all caramel sauce ingredients in a pot and bring to the boil stirring. Reduce heat and simmer
without stirring for 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, it will thicken as it
cools.
Chocolate Ganache
Heat cream until almost boiling, remove from heat add chocolate. Let sit for 3 minutes then whisk until
smooth and glossy. Leave to cool, it will thicken faster in fridge.