Chocolate Ruffle Cake

This beautiful cake consists of 3 different coloured sponge cake bases filled with thin layers of ganache and then beautifully decorated with a swiss meringue buttercream.

This cake is completely gluten free. The sponge cake bases are baked without flour and are instead baked using only pudding powder.

The sponge cake bases and ganache can be prepared the day before.

Light sponge cake 1:

• 3 eggs (size M), at room temperature
• 120 g sugar
• 2 packages vanilla pudding powder (one package weighs approx. 40 g)

Darker sponge cake 2:

• 3 eggs (size M), at room temperature
• 120 g sugar
• 1 package vanilla pudding powder (approx. 40 g)
• 1 package chocolate pudding powder (approx. 40 g)

Darkest sponge cake 3:

• 3 eggs (size M), at room temperature
• 150 g sugar
• 2 packages chocolate pudding powder (one package weighs approx. 40 g)

For soaking:

• 200 ml black tea
• 2 teaspoons sugar

For the ganache:

• 300 g heavy whipping cream
• 200 g dark chocolate

Swiss meringue buttercream:

• 8 egg whites, at room temperature
• 600 g soft butter, cut into cubes
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 pinch salt
• 300 g sugar
• cocoa

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, top and bottom heat.
2. Prepare a 20 cm diameter spring form cake pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper.
3. Prepare the first sponge cake. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks.
4. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar beating well between each addition.
5. Gradually add the egg yolks and then fold in the pudding powder.
6. Pour the batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes (use the skewer test to see if the cake is done).
7. Once baked remove it from the oven. Turn the sponge with the pan onto a cake rack lined with parchment paper and let it cool completely in the pan. In this way we will get a flat sponge cake. When cooled remove from the pan.
8. Continue following the same steps for the second and third sponge cake bases.
9. Prepare the ganache. Chop up the chocolate and put it in a bowl and set aside. Bring the whipping cream to a boil and then immediately pour this over the chopped chocolate, let it sit for a minute or two. Start stirring the chocolate and cream until the chocolate is completely melted, let it cool to room temperature and then place it in the fridge over night.
10. Steep the black tea in hot water until it has just coloured the water, add the sugar and let it cool completely.
11. Cut each of the sponge cakes horizontally in half.
12. Beat the ganache until creamy and spreadable and divide into 5 equal parts.
13. Place the darkest sponge cake base on the cake plate, soak it with a little bit of the tea water and spread the first layer of ganache.
14. Continue doing this with all the layers, darkest to lightest, until you have 6 evenly layered sponge cake. Place the cake in the fridge.
15. Prepare the swiss meringue buttercream. Heat the egg whites, sugar, lemon juice and the pinch of salt over double boiler whisk continuously until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture feels hot. (You can test this by rubbing a little bit of the mixture between your finger and if you cannot feel any sugar grains or if using a thermometer reads 60°C the sugar is dissolved).
16. Pour the mixture into a food processor or using an electric hand mixer beat the mixture on high speed until thick and creamy and has cooled done to room temperature. Approximately 10 minutes.
17. If using the food processor change the whisk attachment to the paddle (K beater) attachment, for the hand mixer leave on the whisk attachment. When the mixture has cool down to room temperature add the butter piece by piece while mixing continuously at medium speed. The buttercream will look somewhat liquid and grainy, but simply just keep on mixing until it thickens and becomes smooth.
18. Spread a thin layer of buttercream all over the cake.
19. Divide the rest of the buttercream into thirds. Leave one part buttercream uncoloured and the other two parts mix with some cocoa until they are two contrasting (light and dark) brown coloured mixtures.
20. Now we will start decorating the cake creating 3 layers of different coloured ruffles - buttercream ribbons. Fit a large petal tip into a piping bag and fill with buttercream. Start at the bottom of the cake holding the bag horizontally with the wider tip of the nozzle facing the cake and the narrow tip face you.

1. Do the bottom layer first. Pipe the buttercream in a left and right motion (close zig-zag patterns) until you reach the top of the lower third of the cake. Repeat in columns all the way round. After you have completed first layer with one color, build on top of that with your next color - go all the way around the cake. Then finish with your last color - creating 3 even layers of the 3 different coloured buttercream. (TIP: To help keep your columns of ruffles straight, use a ruler or knife to mark vertical lines around the side of the cake).
2. Use the remaining buttercream to decorate the top of the cake.
3. Place the cake in the fridge.
4. Remove the cake from the fridge about 30 min before serving so that the buttercream is not to firm.

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