Maltesers Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 200g soft brown sugar
• 60g cocoa powder
• 150g plain flour
• 180g ground almonds
• 50g butter, melted in microwave until liquid
• 284ml buttermilk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

Frosting ingredients:

• 100g mascarpone
• 100g icing sugar
• 30g cocoa powder

For the top and middle:

• 175g pouch Maltesers

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C/ fan 160C.

Line the base of 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with baking paper, lightly grease the base and sides with a little vegetable oil.

Whisk the eggs and sugar until they turn pale and treble in size

Add the flour, cocoa powder, almonds, baking powder, salt, buttermilk and melted butter to the bowl and mix to combine.

Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins and place into the middle of a hot oven for 30 minutes.

Once cooked, leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes until cold.You could speed up the process by placing the rack in the fridge if you wanted to. The cake must be cold before you ice it or it will simply run off it.

While the cake is cooling, make the icing: place the mascarpone and icing sugar in a bowl and mix together with the help of a rubber spatula. When they are totally blended together and there are no lumps, add the cocoa powder and mix again. Refrigerate until needed.

To assemble the cake, spread a thin layer of icing on the underside of both cakes. Scatter half of the Maltesers on the base layer, then sandwich with the top half. Finally, place the Maltesers all over the top of the cake before serving.