A party without cake is just a meeting! Serve it up MK style to steal the show. 

Red velvet cake with white chocolate ganache and torched meringue 

Makes one six-layer cake  // Serving 12 // Total time 1 hour 30 minutes, plus cooling

Ingredients 

For the cake 

5 1/3 cups cake flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder 
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
1 tsp salt 
1 cup softened butter 
3 1/3 cups light brown sugar 
4 large eggs 
1 cup canola oil 
3 Tbsp red food colouring 
4 tsp vanilla essence 
2 tsp white vinegar 
2 2/3 cups buttermilk 
Fresh raspberries, to serve  

For the ganache  

1 cup cream 
4 slabs (150g each) white chocolate, finely chopped  

For the meringue  

2 large egg whites 
1/2 cup castor sugar 
1 tsp vanilla essence   

Method 

For the cake  

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
2. Grease and line three 15cm cake tins and set aside. (Or use two 23cm tins and decrease baking time. You can use one pan to make cakes one at a time and increase the baking time). 
3. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, bicarb and salt. 
4. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar for 6-8 minutes until light and fluffy. 
5. Whisk in eggs, oil, food colouring, vanilla, vinegar and buttermilk. 
6. Add wet ingredients to dry and combine using a wooden spoon, taking care not to overmix. Add more food colouring if needed. 
7. Divide batter into prepared tins and allow to stand for 15 minutes. 
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Set cakes aside to cool completely. 

For the ganache  

1. Place cream into heatproof bowl over a tight-fitting pot of simmering water. 
2. Add chocolate and stir gently until smooth, making sure bowl doesn’t get too hot to touch. 
3. Remove and set aside to cool and thicken. 

For the meringue  

1. Whip egg whites in a stand mixer or with hand mixer until stiff peak stage. 
2. Add sugar 1 Tbsp at a time while whisking at 6-8 minute intervals until meringue is glossy and thick. 
3. Whisk in vanilla essence and set aside. 

To assemble  

1. Remove cakes from tins. Use a serrated bread knife to carefully cut through each cake horizontally to create six thin cakes. 
2. Layer cakes with white chocolate ganache, then add generous dollops of the meringue to the top and side of the completed cake. Torch with a kitchen blowtorch and top with raspberries to serve.

 Also read: 4 Ways To Repurpose A Flopped Cake

Chocolate and coffee ganache cake 

Makes one three-layer cake // Serving 12 // Total time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients 

For the cake 

2 cups cake flour 
3/4 cup cocoa powder 
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
1 tsp salt 
1 cup light brown sugar 
1 cup dark brown sugar (demerrera or muscovado) 
2 eggs 
1 cup cream or milk 
1/2 cup canola oil or melted butter 
2 tsp vanilla extract 
1 cup hot water   

For the two ganache’s   

1/2 cup cream 
2 slabs (150g each) milk chocolate, chopped 
2 slabs (150g each) dark chocolate, chopped  

For the marbled frosting 

250g butter, room temperature
4 cups icing sugar, sifted 
1 tsp vanilla essence 
1 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 
3 Tbsp boiling water, cooled 
2 Tbsp cocoa powder   

To decorate  

Small handful pistachios or chocolate, chopped  

Method 

1. Grease and line three 15cm cake tins. 
2. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
3. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. 
4. Stir in sugar. 
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk or cream, oil or butter and vanilla essence.
6. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until combined. 
7. Pour hot water into batter (it should be runny). 
8. Divide batter into tins and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool before turning out onto wire rack. 
9. For the two ganaches, place each chocolate in its own bowl. Heat cream in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water until scalding. 
10. Divide cream between bowls and stir each until smooth. Set aside to cool and thicken. 
11. For the frosting, beat together butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Divide between two bowls. 
12. Add vanilla essence to one and coffee and cocoa powder to the other. Mix until each is smooth. 
13. Add alternating spoonfuls of each frosting to a single piping bag, or resealable bag with corner cut, fitted with a star nozzle. This will create a marbled effect once it has been piped. 
14. Assemble by spreading one cake with two ganaches. Stack second cake on top and cover with ganaches. 
15. Pipe rosettes on top of cake. Decorate and serve.

Carrot cake with meringue shards and cream cheese frosting 

Serves 4 // Total time 50 minutes

Ingredients 

For the cake 

2 cups cake flour 
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
1/2 tsp salt 
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon 
1 tsp mixed spice 
1 1/4 cup melted butter or canola oil 
4 large eggs, whisked 
1 tsp vanilla essence 
2 cups light brown sugar 
2 1/2 cups grated carrots (3 large carrots) 
1/2 cup chopped sultanas or Turkish apricots 
1/4 cup chopped pecan nuts  

For the meringue shards  

1 egg white 
1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar  

For the cream cheese frosting  

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups icing sugar, sifted 
1 tub (230g) cream cheese, room temperature  

For the spun sugar   

1 cup sugar 
1/2 cup water  

Method 

1. Grease and line two 15cm cake tins. 
2. Preheat oven to 175°C. 
3. Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice together. 
4. Whisk butter or oil, eggs, vanilla and sugar in a separate bowl. 
5. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well combined. 
6. Stir through carrots, dried fruit and nuts. 
7. Divide batter between prepared tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool cakes completely. 
8. For the meringue shards reduce oven heat to 160 °C 
9. Beat egg white until stiff peaks form, then add sugar a tablespoon at a time while whisking until thick and glossy. 
10. Line a tray with baking paper and use a spatula to spread a thin layer of meringue onto the paper. 
11. Bake meringue for 15 minutes, remove and cool before breaking into shards. Set aside. 
12. For the frosting, beat together butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and beat until smooth. 
13. Assemble by spreading a generous layer of frosting on one cake, stacking the other cake on top and spreading with remaining frosting. 
14. To make the spun sugar, first grease a wooden rolling pin and place newspaper or a black bag onto your work surface. (To catch the sugar and prevent a mess). 
15. Heat sugar and water until sugar has dissolved and liquid turns amber. Set aside to cool slightly. 
16. Using two oiled forks, dip into the hot sugar syrup and whip back and forth over the rolling pin to create spun sugar. 
17. Gather the wisps of sugar into a nest and place on top of your cake, along with shards of meringue. Slice and serve immediately.  

 Words: Sjaan van der Ploeg

Photography: Zhann Solomons

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