This is a decadent cake. It’s got three layers, filled with a caramel buttercream. The caramel buttercream has chopped up caramello chocolate (I know). Then it’s topped with a chocolate ganache, covered in MORE buttercream before being drizzled with caramel sauce and crushed caramel!

It sounds like a lot of work but all the steps were simple. The buttercream is surprisingly light (but let’s not kid ourselves, this cake is crazy rich). There is almost a kilo of butter in it, 700g of chocolate and 600g of icing sugar. Eek. But isn’t it a showstopper!

Adapted from Taste Magazine

*Note the lower than normal oven temperature

Cake Ingredients
450g butter
300g dark cooking chocolate, finely chopped
315g (1 1/2 cups) caster sugar
6 eggs
565g (3 3/4 cups) plain flour
75g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour
30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
185ml (3/4 cup) buttermilk

Caramel Buttercream
375g unsalted butter, softened
600g (4 cups) icing sugar mixture
390g tin Caramel Top ‘n Fill or Bonne Maman Caramel Spread (reserve 2 tbsp)
2 x 200g blocks Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramello chocolate, broken into squares & halved

Chocolate Ganache
100g dark chocolate, finely chopped
25g butter

Toffee
1/4 cup caster sugar

Cake: Preheat oven to 160C/140C fan forced. Grease and line three x 19cm round cake pans with non-stick baking paper.

In a large pot, melt the butter and chocolate over medium heat, stirring occasionally until smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

Add sugar and eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add flours, cocoa and buttermilk and mix until well combined. Divide equally amount the prepared pans, smoothing the surface. Bake for 35-40 minutes (mine were done just over 30 but my oven runs super hot), swapping the pans around halfway through until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Caramel Buttercream: Use electric beaters to beat butter and icing sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Beat in caramel (don’t forget to reserve a bit to drizzle over the cake when you assemble) until combined.

Remove one third of the buttercream to a separate bowl for the piped cream on top. Add the chopped caramello chocolate to the remaining buttercream and combine.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the caramello buttercream to fill in gaps after you have assembled the cake.

Toffee: Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the 1/4 cup of caster sugar in a small frying pan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally until golden. Quickly pour over prepared tray. Set aside until set. Break into pieces. Place in a small sealable plastic bag and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush.

Chocolate Ganache*: *Do not prepare this until the cake has been assembled and chilled. In a small microwave safe bowl, place the chocolate and butter and cook stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.

To Assemble: Place one cake layer on a plate and top with half the caramello buttercream.

Top with a second cake and top with the remaining caramello buttercream. Top with the third layer and fill in any gaps with a palette knife with the reserved caramello buttercream.

Place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.

Pour the melted chocolate ganache over the top of the cake allowing it to drizzle down the sides.

Set aside for 30 minutes to set. Place the plain reserved buttercream into a piping bag with a large fluted nozzle. Pipe swirls on top of the cake. Drizzle with reserved caramel sauce. Sprinkle with toffee.