North American Mother's Day is coming up ...

So, it's Mother's Day in Canada and the US soon. What a great excuse to bake a fabulous, chocolatey, gooey yet beautiful cake for your Mom - or any other amazing aunt, sister, cousin or friend. This particular cake was made for a friend's mother on the occasion of her 90th birthday. This is (once again), made with the guaranteed successful, equal portioned, all-in-one recipe that I've shared on earlier posts.

This is a chocolate cake, split in half and coated in chocolate ganache, then covered in vanilla to chocolate ombre icing.

I also hand-made the flowers in varying shades of pink fondant paste.

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Ingredients

• For The Chocolate Cake:

• 3 large eggs

• 165g (6 oz) self-raising flour

• 165g (6 oz) caster sugar

• 165g (6 oz) softened butter or light oil

• 1½ level tsp baking powder

• 40g (1½ oz) cocoa powder

• For The Chocolate Spreading/Ganache Icing:

• 150ml (5fl oz) double cream

• 150g (5oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces

• For the Ombre Icing:

• 70g/2.5oz butter, softened

• 140g/5oz icing sugar

• 1-2 tbsp milk

• 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, gas 4.

2. Beat together the eggs, flour, caster sugar, cocoa powder, butter and baking powder until smooth in a large mixing bowl.

3. Turn into the prepared tins, level the top and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 mins, or until shrinking away from the sides of the tin and springy to the touch.

4. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn on to a wire rack to become completely cold before icing.

5. To make the icing: measure the cream and chocolate into a bowl and carefully melt over a pan of hot water over a low heat, or gently in the microwave for 1 min (600w microwave). Stir until melted, then set aside to cool a little and to thicken up.

6. Spread half of the ganache icing on the top of the cakes, then lay the other cake on top, sandwiching them together.

7. Use the remaining ganache icing to ice the top of the cake. Put in the fridge to cool and harden the chocolate

8. Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth.Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.

Using a piping bag and a Wilton 1M swirling tip, add 1/4 white icing to the bottom and by gradually adding the cocoa a bit at a time (adding more darker layers to the bag, you will reach the desired effect.

Starting at the middle and on top of the cake, swirl the icing around and down - you should finish with a darker icing on the bottom of the cake. Fill in any gaps with a star of icing.

Add your sugar flowers only just before serving (otherwise, the moistness of the icing will seep into the sugar paste and melt it)