My little one turned 1 last month, already… how time flies. My baby is no longer a baby but a little boy, he has changed so much. He’s growing up so fast and learning so many things by the minute, it’s quite incredible. Soon, he’ll be joining me in the kitchen to bake four-handed, I can’t wait! For now, he’s content to watch me from his high chair and he’s already hugely interested.
Enough sentiment and nostalgia, I’m going to tell you about the cake I made him for his 1st birthday. It’s true that I’m not a fan of sugar paste, it’s not my world. That said, for a birthday party packed with greedy little imps, I have to admit it does make an impression (and it always goes down well).
As my son isn’t old enough to tell me what he would have liked, I chose for him. His great passion is cats! “Mia” here, “mia-ow” there, the choice was quickly made. Then, I came across, somewhat by chance, the chocolate vanilla layer cake recipe by Titi la toquée, also a cat lover, and I fell for it. Isn’t this cat cute?
I followed Tiphaine’s recipe completely and I don’t regret it, it’s just delicious! It was the first time I’d made a molly cake and I approve, I’m keeping the recipe for future layer cakes. The cake is super soft yet holds up very well when assembling the different layers. The idea of adding a praline crunchy layer is just brilliant! I’d never done it in a layer cake before, what a mistake. It’s a real plus!
In short, as you’ll have gathered, this cake is to die for, it’s simple to make and to assemble. The only difficulty, perhaps, is the decoration. And even then… It’s not my thing, and yet I managed to come up with something not too bad, so it’s possible! There are several steps to do the day before, so that’s rather a good thing in terms of organisation. As for the sugar paste decorations, I advise you to make them several days in advance so they can dry properly. Plus, it will lighten your workload on the day. So, are you going to fall for it too?
Info
I made this cake twice, so if you look very carefully at the photos you may notice the cakes are slightly different from one set of photos to the next. The version with the lighter grey fondant is the second attempt, which came out much neater. The first version used a darker grey that looks black in the photos but was actually grey in real life!
Ingredients & method
7 components · Full recipe
Vanilla molly cake
Ingredients
- 330 g (11.6 oz) flour
- 330 g (11.6 oz) sugar
- 1.5 sachets baking powder
- 6 eggs
- 330 g (11.6 oz) crème fraîche
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F. Grease and flour a tall-sided 20 cm (7.9 in) round cake tin, or line it with baking paper.
2
Beat the eggs and sugar with a mixer until the mixture is pale, fluffy and has tripled in volume (about 10 minutes on high speed).
3
Meanwhile, whip the crème fraîche to stiff peaks.
4
Add the vanilla seeds and vanilla extract to the egg mixture and mix briefly.
5
Sift the flour and baking powder together, then gently fold into the egg mixture with a spatula, keeping as much air as possible.
6
Fold the whipped crème fraîche into the batter in two additions, very gently.
7
Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
8
Bake for 55–60 minutes. The cake is done when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Do not open the oven during the first 50 minutes.
9
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
10
Once fully cold, wrap the cake in cling film and refrigerate (ideally overnight before slicing — this makes it much easier to cut into even layers).
Milk chocolate ganache (make the night before)
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) milk chocolate
- 200 g (7.1 oz) whipping cream
Method
1
Chop the milk chocolate finely and place in a bowl.
2
Heat the cream to the boil and pour it in three additions over the chocolate, mixing with a spatula each time from the centre outward until smooth and glossy.
3
Blend briefly with a stick blender to ensure a perfectly smooth emulsion.
4
Pour the ganache into a shallow dish and cover with cling film pressed directly onto the surface. Refrigerate overnight.
Dark chocolate ganache (make the night before)
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) dark chocolate
- 200 g (7.1 oz) whipping cream
Method
1
Prepare the dark chocolate ganache following the same method as for the milk chocolate ganache (steps 1–4 above).
Vanilla syrup
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) sugar
- 100 g (3.5 oz) water
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
1
In a saucepan, bring the sugar, water and vanilla pod seeds to the boil.
2
Strain the syrup through a sieve, then soak the cooled cake layers with the warm syrup using a pastry brush. The sponge should be lightly moistened — do not oversoak it or it will crumble during assembly. Leave to cool completely.
Praline crunch
Ingredients
- 75 g (2.6 oz) praline paste
- 10 g (0.4 oz) dark chocolate
- 10 g (0.4 oz) milk chocolate
- 20 g (0.7 oz) feuilletine (feuillantine flakes)
Method
1
Melt both chocolates together in a bain-marie (or microwave in short bursts). Add the praline paste and mix until smooth.
2
Add the feuilletine flakes and fold in gently.
3
Set aside until assembly.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Remove the ganaches from the fridge 30–45 minutes before assembly so they soften to a spreadable consistency. Then beat each one in the mixer until it lightens in colour and becomes fluffy.
2
Slice the molly cake into 4 even layers using a cake leveller or a long serrated knife.
3
Place the first layer on a cake board. Soak with vanilla syrup, spread an even layer of milk chocolate ganache, then spread the praline crunch on top.
4
Place the second layer on top. Soak with syrup and spread an even layer of milk chocolate ganache.
5
Repeat for the third layer, then place the final layer on top (flat side up). Apply a thin crumb coat of dark chocolate ganache all over the cake to trap any crumbs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.
6
Apply a final coat of dark chocolate ganache all over the cake, smoothing it as neatly as possible with a bench scraper and a rotating turntable. Return to the fridge to firm up before decorating.
Decoration
Ingredients
- fondant icing (grey, black, white, pink)
Method
1
Roll out the grey fondant to about 3 mm thickness and drape it over the top of the cake. Smooth it flat on top with a fondant smoother or your hand, then trim the excess. The sides of the cake are left with the dark chocolate ganache showing.
2
Shape the cat ears from black and pink fondant. Press them gently onto the top of the cake. Draw the cat face (eyes, nose, mouth, whiskers) directly onto the fondant using food-colouring pens or small pieces of coloured fondant.
3
The cake should be stored at room temperature as fondant does not like the moisture of the fridge.
Gallery
