Chocolate and Hazelnut Halloween Sea Monster Cake

Chocolate and Hazelnut Halloween Sea Monster Cake

Perfect for sharing with your family or household for a sophisticated Halloween dinner!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 175g unsalted butter, softened
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 175g self raising flour
• 1 tsp vanilla essence or extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 45g cocoa powder
• 6 tbsp boiling water

For the whipped chocolate hazelnut ganache:

• 175g unsalted butter
• 100ml double cream
• 230g dark chocolate
• 100g hazelnut chocolate spread

To Decorate:

• 250g modelling chocolate
• Gold spray
• Guylian Belgian Chocolates

Method:

Chocolate Cake:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C (fan)
2. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, mixing them in one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
4. Sift in the flour and baking powder.
5. Lastly, mix the cocoa powder with the boiling water to form a paste, then add this to the mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. 
6. Divide the mixture between 3 6inch cake tins (or 2 8inch) and bake for 25 minutes, or until risen and baked through. 
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin. Then leave them to cool thoroughly before decorating. 

Whipped Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache:

1. In a bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt the butter, cream and chocolate until fully melted.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate hazelnut spread until it is smooth. 
3. Leave to cool - the ganache will firm up as you do so. 
4. I like to whip my ganache which makes is super smooth and light, perfect for piping and spreading onto cakes, so with an electric whisk, beat the ganache for a few minutes until slightly paler and airy. 

1. Level the cakes so that when stacked they are straight. 
2. Spread a thin layer of ganache between each layer, and then smooth it all over the sides of the cake. 
3. Use a cake scraper or palette knife to ensure it is smooth around the edges.
4. Leave to chill in the fridge while you make the tentacles as this firms up the ganache!
5. For the tentacles, use modelling chocolate, warming it up slightly in your hands until it is fully pliable. 
6. Make around 8 tentacles and an eye to make it all look as though it is bursting out of the cake. 
7. Use ganache to secure them onto the cake and then transfer any leftover ganache to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. 
8. Pipe 'coral' shapes on the cake, to help attach the Guylian Belgian Chocolate Sea Shells - place these all around the cake and inside the tentacles. 
9. Use edible gold glitter spray or shimmer dust to spritz all over the tentacles.
10. Enjoy! The perfect halloween treat for a sophisticated dinner party!