Chocolate Sponge Cake With Chocolate Caramel Popcorn
This Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe is out of this world delicious. The decadent Chocolate Caramel Popcorn topping takes this Chocolate Sponge Cake to another level. Drop everything and make it now.
There are some days when nothing but a Moist Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Caramel Popcorn would do. Nope, it would have to be THIS cake.
Chocolate Sponge Cake – A million reasons why you will love it
- This chocolate sponge cake has got chocolate in it – probably the only reason needed, but I can helpfully think of a few more.
- Then it has got even more chocolate in and on it – anyone who says you can have too much chocolate clearly has not had this cake yet. If that is you, then drop everything and make it now.
- Plus, that crunchy gooey Caramel Popcorn topping on top of this Chocolate Sponge Cake. That is a marriage made in foodie heaven.
- Easter baking / dessert centerpieces / chocaholic cravings are totally sorted – I have got all our backs.
See, I have got plenty of reasons.
How To Make Chocolate Sponge Cake:
Making this Chocolate Sponge Cake is super easy.
Step 2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 3. Gradually beat in the eggs and if the mixture starts to curdle, add a little flour.
Step 4. Then mix in the cocoa paste, flour, baking powder and the chocolate chunks.
Step 5. Divide the mixture between the three sandwich tins and bake.
Chocolate Sponge Cake Topping
The toping is one of the best bits of this moist chocolate cake. First, you make a fluffy vanilla buttercream icing exactly like your mum / gran / bestie makes. And as a little or as much as you want. Just to make sure that you have enough of everything you like, add a little extra icing.
Then you top it all of with some crunchy perfect caramel popcorn
How to Make Caramel Popcorn
Easy, peasy right?
If you love salted caramel, do check out my blogger friend Sandhya’s BEST Salted Caramel Sauce (via Sandhya’s Kitchen).
Now back to the chocolate cake with caramel chocolate chip popcorn. The basic cake itself is a soft and fluffy chocolate sponge cake, studded with chocolate chunks all wrapped up with a fluffy vanilla buttercream icing exactly like your mum makes. Just to make sure that you have enough of everything you like, add a little extra icing, a lot more chocolate and some fab toppings.
I found that icing around the outside of the cake was much easier if the cake was chilled. So, I suggest baking the chocolate sponge and icing between the layers, then refrigerating the partially done cake overnight. That way you can easily ice the outside the next day.
And then to top it all, you just add as much Caramel Popcorn as you can manage. You are totally allowed to eat all the rest of the popcorn. Macaroons and flowers purely optional.
Is this not just the best Easter centrepiece ever?
Eggless Chocolate Cake
To make an Eggless Chocolate Cake you would have to swap the eggs for some mashed bananas or applesauce.
A few tips
- Add a little extra time when beating the butter and sugar so that the mixture gets a little bit more airy (to replace that extra lightness from the missing eggs)
- When adding the dry ingredients to the batter, mix them all together and fold them in carefully a little bit at a time so that you don’t remove all the air.
- Don’t be tempted to add extra raising agents as this will result in the cake collapsing.
- Make sure you let the cake cool on a wire rack to avoid ending with a collapsed cake.
Ps if you are reading this post around Easter then Happy Easter to you. Go. Bake. This. Cake. Now.
Thank you for reading my Chocolate Sponge Cake recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you.
Get The Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe
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Naked Chocolate Cake With Caramel Chocolate Chip Popcorn
Ingredients
For the Chocolate cake
- 7 tablespoons cocoa powder I used Dr Oetker’s fine dark cocoa powder
- 300 g (10.6oz) butter at room temperature
- 300 g (10.6oz) caster sugar
- 4 large free-range eggs
- 300 g (10.6) self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 75 g (2.6oz) chocolate cut into chunks I used Dr Oetker’s fine cooks 54 % dark chocolate
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the butter cream
- 200 g (7oz) butter softened
- 420 g (14.8oz) cing sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp milk
Vanilla caramel chocolate chip popcorn:
- 115 g (½ cup) popcorn
- 2 tbsp oil
- 70 g (2.5ooz) unsalted butter
- 210 g (7.4oz) light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 60 g (2oz) chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the chocolate cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350ºF/gas 4 and then line and grease three 20cm (8 inch) sandwich tins.
- Mix together the cocoa powder with a little hot water and mix into a smooth paste.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs and if the mixture starts to curdle, add a little flour. Then mix in the cocoa paste, flour, baking powder and the chocolate chunks. Divide the mixture between the three sandwich tins and bake in the preheated oven for 22 to 25 min or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for 5 mins in the tin before cooling completely on a rack.
Make the butter cream:
- Add the butter to a bowl and beat, with a hand-held mixer until pale and smooth. Add half the icing sugar and beating until combined. Add the remaining icing sugar, vanilla and half the milk and beat the mixture until combined and smooth. Beat in the extra milk, if needed.
Make the caramel chocolate popcorn
- Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Make the popcorn. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the popcorn to the hot oil and cover the pot with a lid. Gently shake the pot when the corn starts popping. When finished remove the pot from the heat and transfer to a bowl, making sure to discard all the un-popped kernels.
- Make the caramel sauce. Combine the butter, sugar, water and salt in a sauce pan, over medium heat and mix until the butter has melted. Bring the caramel mix to the boil and then boil for 5 mins stirring occasionally. Switch off the heat and mix in the double cream and vanilla extract. Let the caramel sauce rest for at least 15 mins as it thickens upon standing.
- Pour as much vanilla caramel as you want on to the popcorn, add in the chocolate chips and mix until well coated. Transfer the popcorn to the baking tray and spread out in a single layer. Let the coconut caramel popcorn cool and then break into pieces
Assemble the chocolate cake with caramel chocolate chip popcorn topping:
- Dab a tsp of buttercream icing on the cake stand before putting down the first cake layer.
- Spread about a quarter of the buttercream frosting evenly on the top of the cake evenly over the making sure some of the frosting hangs out over the edges. Add the second cake, making sure it is centered, press down gently spread another quarter of the frosting. Repeat with the third sponge.
- Refrigerate the cake for 1hr, then iced the sides of the cake with the remaining icing. Scrape off any extra icing smoothing sides as you do so.
- Top the cake with all the caramel popcorn topping making sure to pile it as high as you can.
