This week I was very excited to be attending my first CCC (Clandestine Cake Club). So many lovely bakers had been talking about it on blogs and Twitter and I finally got the chance to go when Charlotte from Go Free Foods (@GoFreeFoods) set up a Dorset group. The theme was Summer Fruits and I was inspired by a lovely looking recipe in Peggy Porschen’s beautiful book ‘Boutique Baking’.

She has a sprinkling of cocoa powder on the top using a stencil and as I have a new  one it was the perfect opportunity to try it out. Peggy uses three 6″ vanilla sponges layered with buttercream made with Summer Berry Jam. The buttercream is then used to cover the outside of the cake and the stencilled decoration is added on top. I adapted the recipe and made two layers of 8″ chocolate sponge and made blackcurrant buttercream. I figured that if you are going to have a little chocolate sprinkled on top you may as well go the whole way and have it inside aswell!

I think I slightly overcooked my sponges as they seemed a little dry but I think they were ok as the buttercream gives some moisture. Overall I was happy with the look of the cake and my first attempt at stencilling wasn’t too difficult.

The CCC evening was fantastic and I have to say a big thankyou to Charlotte for organising it. The weather was dreadful but we had a good turnout from all around Dorset and the cakes were a delight! Delicious cakes and great company - I can’t think of a nicer way to spend an evening! We had lots to talk about on our first evening together and not just cakes either! We’re hoping to get together again in September. Charlotte has posted some pictures of the evening at
http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/2012/07/11/dorset-summer-fruits/

As this cake is Blackcurrant and Chocolate I have decided to enter it into the ‘We Should Cocoa’ roundup for July

http://choclogblog.blogspot.co.uk/p/we-should-cocoa.html

http://thechocolatepot.blogspot.co.uk

Blackcurrant and Chocolate Cake ( Adapted from Peggy Porschen’s Summer Berry Cake from Boutique Baking)

Ingredients for the sponges:

225g butter, softened

225g golden caster sugar

200g self-raising flour, sieved

25g cocoa powder, sieved

4 large eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 175 c / Gas mark 4   Line two 8″ sponge tins.

Beat the butter and sugar together until soft then add the beaten eggs, slowly. Stir in the sieved flour and cocoa powder slowly. Share the mixture between the two tins and bake for about 35 minutes or until light golden brown and firm to touch.

Ingredients for the filling:

I filled my sponges with a layer of Philadelphia Chocolate Spread and a layer of blackcurrant buttercream.

For the buttercream: 250g butter, softened; 300g icing sugar; 3 tablespoons blackcurrant conserve.

Beat the buttercream ingredints together well until soft.

To finish the cake cover with a layer of buttercream then place in the fridge to set. Then cover with another layer and smooth with a pallette knife. Put back in the fridge to set. When the buttercream is firm the stencil can be placed on top of the cake. Sprinkle well with cocoa powder ensuring that the pattern is evenly covered then remove the stencil. I finished with a few fresh blackcurrants picked from the garden.