Serves: 18

What You’ll Need:

For the sponge:

• 200g unsalted butter, softened
• 275g caster sugar
• 3 medium Free Range Eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 275g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 6 tbsp milk

For the ganache:

• 225g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 150g butter, cubed
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 220ml double cream
• 1 crème egg
• 2 x 89g bags mini crème eggs

For the Icing:

• 100g icing sugar
• Orange and white food colouring

What To Do:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease 3x 18cm round tins and base line them with baking parchment.
• Using a handheld electric whisk, cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl for about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then stir in the vanilla extract
• Add the flour and salt, stirring until the mixture is well combined, then add the milk. You should have a thick batter.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and smooth over the tops with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen, golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool briefly in the tins, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• To make the ganache, place the chocolate, butter and golden syrup into a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Stir until the mixture is melted and smooth, and then pour in the double cream and mix until combined. Place the ganache into the fridge for around 30 minutes, or until chilled but not set firm. Use an electric hand whisk to whip the ganache until it turns from dark to pale brown, it should be light and mousse-like in texture.
• To assemble the cake, stack the bottom two layers on top of each other and use a circular 9cm cutter to remove the middle. Press through both layers at once to make sure the holes line up.
• Put the bottom ring on a cake stand and cover the top with a layer of ganache using a palette knife. Put the second ring on top of the first and fill the cavity with mini crème eggs. Make sure the hole is filled to the same level as the sponge or the top sponge will cave in. Cover the surface of the second ring with ganache then top with the final sponge. Cover the whole cake in the remaining ganache, using a palette knife to smooth the edges.
• To make the icing, divide the icing sugar between two small bowls and add 1-2 teaspoons of water to each. You might need to add a little more water – you want a thick paste to drizzle. Add enough orange/ white food colouring to the bowls to make your icing and drizzle over the cake

Recipes by Martha Collison