ingredients

for the 6-inch cake:

for the 6 inch cake:
250g butter
250g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade caster sugar
200g (4) eggs
200g Doves self raising flour 
50g Fairtrade cocoa powder
1 tsp Doves baking soda
150g plain yoghurt

for the chocolate meringue buttercream (filling & coating for the 6 inch cake)
150g egg whites 
(about 5 large egg whites)
300g caster sugar
300g room temperature, unsalted butter
1 bar of Tony’s dark chocolate

for the chocolate drips:
70g Tony’s dark chocolate
100ml whipping cream

Method for the 6-inch cake:

- Preheat your oven to 170°C on fan 

- Grease and line 2 x 6-inch cake tins

- Heat the butter in a saucepan on a low temperature until it's fully melted but not bubbling

- Combine the melted butter and the sugar in a large bowl using a whisk 

- Add in the eggs and mix together to fully combine

- Sift in the flour (and baking powder if using plain flour), cocoa powder and baking soda and mix until fully incorporates

- Add in the yoghurt and mix in until the batter in completely smooth

- Evenly distribute the batter between the two tins (approx. 550g per tin)

- Bake for 45 - 50 minutes until the cakes are fully baked through, springing back to the touch

- Leave to cool completely on a cooling rack

Tip: Bake your cakes the day before decorating. Once the cakes have cooled, wrap them in clingfilm and leave at room temperature - not in the fridge. 

It's much easier to decorate a cake the day after it's been cooked! Less crumbs! 

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Method for the chocolate meringue buttercream (filling & coating for the 6-inch cake)

- In a stand mixer bowl or metal/glass bowl, mix the egg white and caster sugar using a rubber spatula, until fully incorporated

- Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and continue mixing the sugar and egg whites with the spatula

- Heat up this mixture until it reaches 65°C and the sugar has completely dissolved, continuously mixing to ensure the temperature remains even throughout

- Place onto a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, or use an electric hand whisk and whisk the egg whites and sugar until a thick and glossy meringue has formed (approx. 5-10 minutes)

- Once a thick glossy meringue, leave the bowl and meringue to cool completely at room temperature

- Meanwhile, break up the Tony's chocolate bar into a heat proof bowl and melt the chocolate in the microwave at 30 seconds bursts or over the pan of water that you used before

- Once melted, leave to one side and let's finish off the buttercream!

- Start whisking the meringue again on a slow-medium speed

- Gradually add cubes of butter into the whisking meringue

- Once all the butter is inside the meringue, continue whisking at the same speed until it thickens and totally changes consistency (it may look like it's splitting but that's a good sign!)

- Turn up the speed high and whisk until the buttercream has come together and all the butter has mixed in

- Fold in the melted chocolate into the buttercream with a spatula until fully incorporated

*if the buttercream is quite soft, place the bowl into the fridge for 10-15 minutes and then re whisk it. 

Method for the chocolate drips:

- To make the chocolate ganache drips, simply melt the chocolate and cream together.

- Either in the microwave at 30 second bursts or heat the cream in a small saucepan and once it's steaming, add the chocolate and let the steam of the cream melt the chocolate. 

- The ganache should be quite loose; you may need to add more cream to achieve the correct consistency.