Box of Chocolates Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180℃ / Fan 160℃ / 355℉ / Gas 4. 2. Prepare the brownie tin(s). Grease and fully line the tin with grease proof paper. 3. Make the sponge batter. Place the soft butter and sugars into a good sized bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon or electric beaters until very pale and fluffy. Add the salt and vanilla extract and beat again to combine. Gradually add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition, (see note c below). Add the milk and mix in. Sieve the flour into the mixture. Use a spatula or large metal spoon to fold this in gently. Gently work in a little more milk if the batter does not have a nice ‘dropping’ consistency. 4. Fill the brownie tin(s). Spoon the prepared batter into the prepared brownie tin(s). Spread the batter out gently to level. Use the back of a spoon to make a slight indentation to the centre of the batter. This will help it bake level. 5. Bake. Place the brownie tin in the centre of the oven and bake for about 35 – 40 minutes until golden brown, slightly pulling away from the sides and a cake skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. You may need to rotate the cake tin after 30 minutes of baking. Once baked, remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack. 6. Turn out the cake(s) and cool. Allow the cake(s) to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tin. Finish cooling the cake(s) on a wire rack. Once completely cold place in the fridge to firm up before starting to assemble.7. Make the buttercream frosting. Place the softened butter into a good sized bowl. Beat to ensure it is soft and creamy. Sieve half of the icing sugar into the butter. Use a wooden spoon to combine the two ingredients. Sieve the remaining icing sugar into the bowl and beat to combine. Beat well to create a creamy frosting. Add the vanilla extract mix until well combined. Add a drizzle of milk as necessary until it is the softness you like. Set aside.8. Prepare the raspberry jam. Spoon the jam into a small bowl.  Stir to slacken. Add a drop or two of water if the jam is still quite thick. 9. Make the chocolate ganache. Pour the cream into a small pan and set over a medium heat. Allow the cream to heat through but avoid letting it boil. Meanwhile chop the white chocolate into small pieces. Place into a bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate. Use a teaspoon to stir the ganache, gradually the chocolate will melt and the ganache will become smooth. Once the chocolate is completely melted and the ganache is smooth, set aside to cool and firm up. 10. Begin to assemble the cake. Level the top of the cakes if they have domed during the bake. Slice one of the square cakes in half horizontally, aiming to keep each half equal in size. Place one of the halves onto a cake board, securing it with a small amount of buttercream to the underside. Spread a thin layer of jam over the cake. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the cut surface of the other half. Sandwich the two halves together. 11. Continue assembling the cake. Cut the second square cake in half horizontally. Place one half onto another cake board (ideally the same size as the cake), securing it with a small amount of buttercream. Cut the remaining cake half into 2cm batons. These will form the edges of the cake box to retain the chocolates. Spread a little jam around the upper edge of the first cake. Spread a little buttercream to one of the cake battons. Position the cake baton on top of the cake, aiming to ensure it is sat flush with the edges of the main cake. Repeat with another baton positioning it on the opposite side to the first one. The 3rd and 4th batons will need to be trimmed slightly. Do this by resting it carefully in position and use a sharp cake knife to trim off the excess length. Cover one side of the batons with buttercream and sandwich to the main cake to finish the wall. 12. Chill. Place the two cakes into the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up before coating with chocolate ganache.13. Make the dark chocolate ganache. Pour the cream into a small pan and set over a medium heat. Allow the cream to heat through but avoid letting it boil. Meanwhile chop the dark chocolate into small pieces. Place into a bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate. Use a teaspoon to stir the ganache, gradually the chocolate will melt and the ganache will become smooth. Once the chocolate is completely melted and the ganache is smooth spoon half of it into a second bowl.14. Flavour the two truffle mixture. To one bowl of dark chocolate ganache add finely crumbled biscuits. Mix. To the second bowl add a little kirsch. Mix. Taste.  Avoid adding to much as it will soften the final truffle. Set the two bowls aside to firm up.15. Coat the cakes with white chocolate ganache. Remove the cakes from the fridge. Use a pallet knife,or similar, to spread the white chocolate ganache over all of the surfaces of both cakes. Take your time. You’re aiming for the surface to be as smooth as you’re able and for the edges to be crisp. Use the ganache to fill in any gaps too. Use a clean cloth or piece of kitchen roll to wipe away any ganache to your cake board.  Once the cakes have been coated return them to the fridge for at least half an hour.16. Shape the chocolate biscuit truffles. Pour some of the vermicelli into a bowl. Use a teaspoon to take a quantity of biscuit ganache. Roll it in your hand to create a ball. Roll it in the vermicelli to coat the sides. Place the truffle into a small case. Repeat until all of the truffle mixture has been used. You may find it helpful to regularly wash your hands and rinse them in cold water to help keep the truffle balls neat. Place them in a container as a single layer.  Chill them in the fridge until required.17. Shape the kirsch truffles. Pour a dessert spoon of cocoa powder into a bowl. In the same way as above shape the chocolate ganache mixture into truffle balls. Roll these in cocoa powder. Chill until required.18. Cover the cakes with fondant. Measure the inside surface of the ‘chocolate box’ . Roll out a piece of white fondant trimming it to about that size. Line the inside of the ‘box’ with it (base and upright edges). Gently smooth it into place. Use a sharp knife to carefully remove the excess. 19. Use the purple fondant. Consider the cake as panels (4 to the upper surface and 4 walls to the chocolate box). Start covering the cake with purple fondant.  Start with one of the upper horizontal pieces.  Measure the approximate length and width of that area.  Roll a piece of fondant to an oblong shape. Use a sharp knife to trim away excess fondant, leaving you with a neat oblong piece of purple fondant slightly bigger than what you need. Lay the piece of fondant in position. Carefully trim away the excess. Use the pad of your finger to smooth any edges as required. Repeat with the other 7 surfaces. Cover the chocolate box lid with one large piece of purple fondant. Trim away excess to neaten. 20. Decorate the box. Cut thin strips of white fondant to decorate the box and help to neaten the edges. Use a little water applied with a small brush to afix in place. Use piping nozzles of different sizes to cut circles from white fondant. Afix to the box as a decoration. 21. Mix some royal icing. Place 2 tbsp of royal icing sugar into a bowl and add a few drops of water to create a thick but pipable paste. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Write the word ‘chocolates’ across the ‘lid’ of the design.  Practise this on a plate, or similar, if needed.  22. Position dowels. Consider which corner you want the lid of the chocolate box to rest on. Push a drinking straw into the thickest part of that corner (the three layer part of cake rather than the two layer). Remove the straw keeping your thumb at the level just above the surface of the cake. Cut the straw to that length. Cut 5 or 6 other straws to the same length. 23. Assemble the chocolate box cake. Carefully place the chocolate truffles into the ‘cake box’. Ours held 9. Push the straws into the cake, positioning them between the truffles and also the thick part of the cake in area you want the cake lid to rest. Position the cake lid. Add another straw dowel if necessary to ensure the lid is balanced. 24. Enjoy!
Notes: a) This recipe requires two square cakes.  If you only have one cake tin or room in the oven for just one cake to bake make the two cake batters separately.  If you are able to bake both cakes together make the batter in one go and divide the mixture equally between both tins. b) When making the cupcake batter, consider weighing the cracked eggs first to ensure the batter has equal weight of butter, sugar, flour and eggs. Simply weigh the butter, sugar and flour to the same weight as the eggs. Of course the value may be slightly different to the 120g listed in the ingredients above. c) Consider warming your lightly beaten eggs over a bain marie especially if they feel particularly cold. Warm them until they feel lukewarm. This should help prevent the batter from curdling and produce a better cupcake sponge.  d)  The dark chocolate ganache mixture will make more than 9 chocolate truffles.  Why not serve the excess to guests with the slice of cake.  e)  Either buy the coloured fondant ready coloured, or buy a white fondant and knead in a small amount of colour paste.  This will allow you to get the shade you want. We used Sugarflair’s Paste, in the colour purple.  f)  Use a light dusting of corn flour to prevent the fondant becoming sticky.  ‘Sweep’ away any cornflour on the cake with a dry brush.