Pull out all the stops for your next special event with this incredible Golden Gaytime-inspired cake from The Australian Women’s Weekly’s ‘Cake and Co.‘ cookbook. This four-layer wonder is coated in a delicious malted buttercream and playfully decorated with a rich dark chocolate ganache and your favourite chocolates. Absolutely stunning!
1.Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Grease two deep 15cm (6-inch) round cake pans; line bases and sides with two layers of baking paper.
2.Stir white chocolate, butter, sugar, milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl; cool slightly. Stir in eggs, then stir in sifted flours. Pour mixture evenly into pans.
3.Bake cakes for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave cakes in pans for 5 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto a wire rack to cool.
4.Meanwhile, make malted buttercream; heat milk in a small saucepan until warm; stir in malted milk powder to form a smooth paste. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes. Beat butter and icing sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add malted milk powder mixture; beat well until light and fluffy.
5.Trim tops from cakes to level; split cakes in half. Place one cake layer on a plate or stand. Reserve half the malted buttercream for final coating on top and side of cake. Spread cake layer with a little of the remaining buttercream to create a thin layer. Top with another layer of cake. Repeat layering using remaining portion of buttercream and remaining cake layers, leaving enough buttercream to spread a very thin layer or ‘undercoat’ over top and side of cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6.Spread reserved buttercream smoothly over top and side of cake, for final coating. Press combined biscuits and peanuts around bottom third of cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
7.Meanwhile, make ganache; stir ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool ganache for 10 minutes or until it resembles thickened cream.
8.Pour cooled ganache over top of cake, allowing mixture to run down side. Stand until set.
9.Using a clean small, soft brush, dust chocolates lightly all over with gold and silver lustre powder. Arrange chocolates on cake, securing with a little extra ganache, if needed. Dust with a little more gold and silver lustre powder, if you like.
Decorate the top of this playful and decadent cake with your favourite chocolates, such as dark and milk Maltesers or Lindt balls.
For those with peanut or nut allergies, you can coat the outside of the cake with extra crushed biscuits. Cakes will dome and crack on top because they are baked in small pans with a confined surface area.
To test if cakes are cooked, insert a skewer as close to the centre of the cake as possible, avoiding the cracks. Cracks will give an inaccurate result.
You can freeze cake trimmings for rum balls.
Lustre powders are available from specialty cake decorating shops.
Ganache needs to be cooled before using or it will melt the buttercream.
Do ahead: Store cake, covered, for up to 3 days. Undecorated cake is suitable to freeze.
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