Dad's Birthday and a Malteser Cake

A few days ago Mum, Dad, Mr B and I spent the day together in honour of my Dad's Birthday.

After a leisurely breakfast we piled into the car and made our way to the movies to see Last Vegas.

Unsurprisingly Mr B and my Dad just couldn't help themselves when they saw this display for The Lego Movie!

Given it was mid- week we had the entire cinema to ourselves which was a little eery to start with but turned out to be pretty cool.

After the movies we headed down to the waterfront for lunch. Dad was craving runny eggs and chips and what the birthday boy wants the birthday boy gets - plus Mr B would never pass up an opportunity for runny eggs, chips and the thickest cut bacon we had ever seen.

Mum had a zucchini and fetta jaffle which looked delicious and I had the pumpkin soup which was just what the Doctor ordered on a chilly day.

We then took our extremely full bellies up to Richardson's Harley Davidson for some afternoon retail therapy. Needless to say every single one of us left with slightly lighter bank accounts.....

And just when we thought the day could not get any better.....it was home for presents!!!

Dad was super stoked to get some more bits and pieces for his man cave. I think my favourite was definitely this framed photo of his bike and if you look really closely you can spot Mum and Dad's house in the background.

And what birthday is complete without cake!?

Mum and I knew the moment we saw this Malteser Cake on the cover of Good Taste magazine that it simply had to be Dad's next birthday cake (he is a bit of a Malteser fiend!).

Due to time constraints I made the cake itself on the Tuesday night and then on the Wednesday night I prepared the buttercream and the ganache, cut the cake into layers and filled it with the frosting. This meant that on the Thursday right before we served it, all Mum and I had to do was cover the cake with the ganache and the Maltesers and voilà!

Spreading the preparation out over the week worked really well for me because once you put the Maltesers on the cake it can't go back in the fridge but if you wanted to make the whole thing in one day and serve it that evening that would work just as well.

It was a big day and we were all exhausted by the end of it but it was also a lot of fun and just nice to spend the day together.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

 Malteser Cake - Serves 20

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup milk
125g butter, chopped
¾ cup self-raising flour
½ cup plain flour
½ cup cocoa powder
3 eggs, lightly whisked
185g butter, extra, at room temperature
2¼ cups icing sugar
1/3 cup Milo
1 tbspn milk, extra
465g Maltesers
300g dark cooking chocolate, broken up into pieces
½ cup thickened cream

Preheat oven to 160°C (fan forced) and line the base and sides of a 20cm round springform cake tin with baking paper.

Place the brown sugar, milk and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 2-5 minutes (this will depend on the wattage of your microwave) or until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth.

Sift the two flours and cocoa powder into the bowl of an electric mixer. Slowly pour over the butter mixture and beat until combined.

Add the eggs and beat until mixture is smooth and combined. Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate and cream into a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for 60 seconds. Stir and repeat until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

To make the buttercream use an electric mixer to beat the extra softened butter until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar, milo and extra milk and beat until fluffy. Add 1½ tbspns of ganache and beat until combined.

Set the leftover ganache aside for 1.5 hours or until it’s thick and spreadable.

Meanwhile, use a large serrated knife to cut the cake horizontally into 3 layers. Given this is not the tallest cake and the layers are quite thin, I got Mr B to help me with this bit!

Place the cake base on a cake platter or plate. Spread with 1/2 of the Milo buttercream. Continue layering with the remaining cake and buttercream, finishing with cake. Cover and place in the fridge for 1.5 hours or overnight to chill.

Spread the ganache evenly over the top and side of the cake. Place a row of Maltesers straight down the middle of the cake, then add in rows on either side.

To serve, cut the cake between the rows of Maltesers, or just do what Dad did and eat every Malteser that falls off whilst you're trying to cut the cake.....prior warning this will result in Malteser overload.

And most importantly - enjoy!!!

Mrs B xx