Sometimes, you’ve just got to go with the flow haven’t you?
I was reminded of that this week. If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen a poor little spotty child. The week began with one twin with chickenpox, ousted from nursery (quite rightly) and me in a bit of a tizz with the logistics of this with work. So much to do and all I wanted to do was be able to help him feel better. (Peppa Pig and calamine cream = winner.)
I have to say, The Pox hasn’t been half as bad as I’d imagined, just 2 really bad days of misery (for all of us). It could’ve been a lot worse. Although, having only one twin with it does give a looming cloud of nerves waiting for her to become more feisty than normal and then pow, more spots. What can you do though? Just wait, Calpol at the ready.
I’m also slightly twitchy about the fact that my Mum can’t remember me ever having had it. Every time I get a sniff of an itch I am on edge, inspecting for a spot. What can I do? Got to go with the flow. Oh and bake a cake of course.
So, later in the week, two totally amazing things happened. Firstly, I made this whopper of a cake for a friend’s birthday. In the style of active medication, it restored and calmed my sanity. Concentrating on mixing, baking, slicing, piping, I felt all at one with the world again. Or something.
(Ready for the money shot…?)
The second utterly amazing and kind of freaky thing to happen, was that this little blog got nominated in the Food category for this whopping great big Brilliance in Blogging Award. I’m wondering if someone is playing a joke on me. Anyway, if you nominated me, thank you so, so much. I’m totally overwhelmed and grateful.
I love writing this blog, it’s a total struggle with time and juggling life, but it inspires me to be creative and record things I might otherwise forget. I’ve also met some amazing people because of it in the last 6 months. So anyway, thanks a bunch. I owe you good karma and a Peanut Butter Brownie.
Anyway. On to the good stuff. Light airy cake, sandwiched with peanut, nougaty cream and finished with homemade caramel. Enough to brighten any week, yes?
The sponge is delicate, with lots of air bubbles that come from using yoghurt and baking soda. I’m not sure why, but it just felt right to have a different texture for recreating a chocolate bar as a cake.
The caramel I used is the one I showed you how to make here. I just beat it with a spoon before popping into a piping bag. This makes it runny enough to pipe. If yours is very stiff, you can warm it a little first. Just a tiny bit though or it will melt your icing.
The Ultimate Snickers Layer Cake
Ingredients
- 400 g Unsalted butter
- 200 g Caster sugar
- 200 g Soft light brown sugar
- 4 Medium free range eggs
- 415 g Self raising flour
- 60 g Good quality cocoa like Green & Blacks
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
- 300 g Full fat Greek yoghurt
- 1 Tsp Vanilla extract
For the icing:
- 500 g Unsalted butter
- 750 g Icing sugar
- 213 g Jar of Marshmallow Fluff with the jams and spreads in the supermarket
- 100 g Smooth peanut butter
For the sauce:
- 397 g Jar of Carnation Caramel or a can made using my super simple recipe see the note above
To finish:
- 2 Snickers bars
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
- Prepare your cake tins. I baked this in 4 lined 7" tins. If you only have 2 tins, just bake the batter in 2. It will take a little longer to cook, then slice each layer into 2 when cool.
- Cream your butter and both sugars until pale, light and fluffy.
- Add your eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition. (Don't worry if it looks a little curdled.
- In a separate bowl, sift together your flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. (I never used to listen when a recipe told me to do this, please do it! I promise it's worth it as it means the baking powder is really evenly distributed through the cake.)
- Gently stir in your flour to the rest of the batter until just combined.
- Finally, stir in your yoghurt and vanilla extract.
- Share between either 2 or 4 tins. If using 4 tins and you want to make each one even, there should be about 375g of batter in each tin.
- Don't make this batter and leave it hanging around before putting into the oven. The baking powder will begin to react straight away, so whip it into the oven quickly.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes in 4 tins, or 35-40 minutes in 2 tins. This will really vary a lot though depending on your oven. So just check regularly towards the end of the cooking time. As soon as the cake 'pulls' away from the side of the tin, is springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean, it's done.
Make your icing
- Beat your butter until very pale and then add your icing sugar and beat for at least 5 full minutes if you're using a stand mixer, or 10 minutes if you're beating by hand. (Sorry, good for the muscles though.)
- Beat in the marshmallow fluff.
- Stir through the peanut butter, I like to not quite mix it all in, so that you get a bit of a marbled effect.
Assemble the cake
- When the cake is completely cold, level each cake with a serrated knife. (Just slice the top off.) This is really important, I promise it's not a waste of cake. With a whopper this size, if each layer isn't level there's no chance of it staying upright.
- Snip about 2cm off the end of your piping bag and holding the bag full of icing about 3cm above the cake, pipe teardrop shapes.
- Put your caramel into another piping bag, snip about 0.5cm off the end and drizzle over and around the icing.
- Repeat for each layer. For the top layer, always use an uncut side of sponge facing up so it doesn't dry out.
- Finish off with slices of snickers bar.
Nutrition (per serving)
So have you and yours had chickenpox? Any top tips other than cake and TLC? Does cake baking help your stress levels too or just cake eating?
Sarah x
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Kate - gluten free alchemist says
That is a monster but seriously drool-worthy cake. Not sure how you go about cutting it though! Be warned on the pox front – When my daughter got it as a toddler (a couple of days of crankiness), she kindly shared it with me (3 weeks off work and probably the worst I have ever felt!) Fingers crossed for you………….
Julie's Family Kitchen says
Seriously amazing cake, I think I’m going to have to place an order for my birthday! Good luck with the pox, some kids it barely bothers, for others it’s horrible. Fingers crossed you don’t catch it too. Wishing you all well. Julie x
PS congrats on your BiBs nomination.
Tina Holmes says
Oh my this is amazing! Its a work of art, I would of been scared to cut it. #tastytuesdays
Alison says
Oh my, that looks gorgeous
Kirsty - Hijacked by Twins says
Ooooh Sarah!!! This cake is like a slice of heaven, I LOVE Snickers and would love this cake!!! Hope that the chicken pox soon leaves your house and a huge well done for your nomination for the BiBs xx #TastyTuesdays
Sarah Barnes says
Thanks lovely lady. So happy to have met you the other week 🙂
Honest Mum says
Do you realise how incredible this creation is-wow, wow, wow-I feel a book deal coming on! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Mel says
Sarah, you do not joke when it comes to making cakes… this little beauty is impressive! I want a slice, NOW (you cannot show things like that to a heavily pregnant woman)! x Mel
Sarah Barnes says
Thanks lovely Mel. You totally deserve cake. I’ll try and post it 😉
Debra says
WOW… that is incredible!!! #PoCoLo
The L's Mum says
Wow what an incredible cake. my mouth is watering just looking at it. WOW WOW WOW. and congratulations on your recent Bibs nomination 🙂 #PoCoLo
Sarah Barnes says
Thanks so much for the congratulations. Very pleased you liked the cake 🙂
Leanne @suggys.co.uk/Leanne says
OH MY!!!! I so need some of that cake in my life! Thanx for the recipe i shall give it a whirl. Chickenpox is just blurghhh my partner hasnt had them, so when both boys got them a few years bag he left me too it whilsty escaping to his parents :/ #PoCoLo
Merlinda (@pixiedusk) says
YOu are such a tease! This is so lush! Now I have craving =P #pocolo
Sarah Barnes says
Haha, sorry Merlinda 😉
mel @mydaysni says
How do you evrn come up with these ideas! You always amaze me with your creativity. Well done!
Verily Victoria Vocalises says
You are AMAZING. When I saw this on Twitter yesterday my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Now I have a really tough decision to make in the Food Category. You totally and utterly deserve your place in the BiBs. I hope chicken pox has now left your home.. Thank you for linking to PoCoLo 🙂 x
KidGLloves says
Lucas says – YUM!!!!!!!! Love this cake and when I had Chickenpox I liked to spend loads of time in the bath as I stopped itching in it. The big advantage to being spotty though was everyone felt sorry for me and brought me LOADS of Haribo!!!!! #pocolo
Wicked World of Lucas says
Wow!!! It would almost be worth getting Chicken Pox if it meant I could eat cake like this. It looks amazing. Hope the house is becoming pox free xxx #pocolo
Jane says
Wow! What an amazing cake!
A true work of art!
Bex @ The Mummy Adventure says
That cake looks amazing! I am literally drooling!
Loving life with little ones says
Wow, I can’t eat nuts but make it a mars bar cake and i’m digging in, looks really tasty x #pocolo
Super Busy Mum {Debs} says
Oh dear god look at that CAKE! Wowsers…I love snickers too! haha! Congrats on my nominated, just right too, with those photos!! #PoCoLo x
Helen says
Omg Sarah, this cake is freakin’ awesome! I needed inspiration for my friend’s 30th and here it is! I heard you finally had the pox, and my advice is to be on annual leave so that you avoid it totally. Actually I did get the tail end of Max’s spots, but apparently I was let off lightly. I find that peppa pig and cake fix so many of life’s problems, as does gin, but Francesca tends to frown upon too much chocolate so I try to show moderation with that at least… Xxx
HELEN says
jeepers! I can see why you are in the Bibs finals – congrats! This looks AMAZING!
Amy says
So I was thinking of having a go at this as a ‘mars bar cake’ do you think replacing the peanut butter in the icing with nutella would work??
Sarah Barnes says
Hi Amy, yes, although a Mars doesn’t have nuts in like Nutella, so you could just leave it out? It would be YUM with it in though!
Sara says
Hi, can I substitute peanut butter for smooth almond butter?
Sarah Barnes says
Hi Sarah, you could, although the texture of a crunchy nut butter adds bite. Perhaps add a handful of chopped nuts too?
Jenny says
Well – this was fun to make. My advice is to read the recipe properly at least 3 times – I ended up boiling caramel for 5 hours when I could have just got cracking with it! If youse making two and are going to do one big batch of the icing – make sure you have a HUGE bowl. The decorating is a messy business but it looks fab once done. Oh and finally – hire a kitchen assistant to clean up as you go 🙂 xx
Mark G says
Hi Sarah,
First off I love the cake!!! I’m gonna try making it this weekend but I was wondering if you had the recipe in cups?
Chrissy says
This cake is amazing, made it for the works Xmas buffet and it went in a matter of minutes! Very sweet and incredibly moorish! Fantastic recipes, thanks for sharing!
Emasara says
Wow this cake looks delicious well done you … I’d like to have a go at doing this as a Mars bar cake too as not everyone in my family eats nuts does anyone have any ideas what I could replace the 100g of peanut butter with in the icing (something without nuts) ..l was thinking just a nice CHOC spread with no nuts in would this work? or would increasing the marshmallow fluff by 100g instead perhaps work. Very pleased to have found your blog will be visiting again
Vic says
Hi there.
This recipe has me drooling at the pictures!!
I’m planning on making it this weekend. Do you think it’d be OK made the day before or should I assemble on the day?
Many thanks x
Mark says
HI Sarah – this looks fabulous!!!
How long do you think I would be able to store the cake assembled before serving? I am making it as a secret surprise for my better half, but today is the only day that I have the kitchen to myself…and then the party is not until Saturday afternoon…would it survive well in a cake tin for 2 days would you think?
Thanks in advance – nervous but excited!!!
Liza says
Looks amazing. I’m having trouble with the print icon as it shows a blank screen from my. iPad. My first try at one of your recipes. My cake won’t look so good though.