With peanut butter icing, caramel sauce and popcorn, this American inspired layer cake is the ultimate showstopper…
Feeds 16 : Ready in 1 hour 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 350g Co-op unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 350g Fairtrade caster sugar
- 6 Co-op British free range eggs
- 350g Co-op self raising flour
- 75ml Co-op semi-skimmed milk
- For the icing:
- 75g Co-op unsalted butter
- 175g Co-op smooth peanut butter
- 125g Co-op light soft cheese
- 300g Fairtrade icing sugar
- 2-3 tbsp Co-op semi-skimmed milk
- To decorate:
- 6 tbsp Co-op seedless raspberry jam
- 100ml caramel sauce (see recipe below)
- 30g sweet popcorn
METHOD
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas 4
- Grease and line 3 x 18cm loose-bottomed round cake tins
- Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy
- Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each is well combined before adding the next
- Fold in the flour, then carefully stir in the milk
- Divide the mixture evenly between the cake tins and bake for 25-30 mins, until the sponges are well risen and golden
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then transfer the sponges to a wire rack to cool down completely.
For the icing:
- beat together the butter, peanut butter and cream cheese in a large bowl
- Add half the icing sugar, beat well, then mix in the rest
- Finally, beat in the milk, a bit at a time, until you have a fairly thick, but spreadable consistency
- Level the sponges with a large knife, to give flat tops
- Put one on a serving plate and spread with a couple of spoonfuls of the icing
- Top with a layer of raspberry jam, then sit another cake on top
- Repeat, finishing with the final sponge
- Cover the entire cake in the remaining icing, then decorate with the caramel sauce and popcorn
