Easter Nest Cake

This is a really easy cake to make and looks very pretty once finished. It’s also the perfect alternative to a traditional Easter Simnel cake for those who prefer chocolate to fruit cake and marzipan!

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Easter Nest Cake  

You will need:

For the cake

• 175g margarine
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 150g self-raising flour, sifted
• 50g of cocoa, sifted
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

For the nest

• 5 shredded wheat “biscuits” (alternatively cornflakes can be used)
• 200g-400g milk chocolate (depends on the cereal you are using)
  

For decoration

• 1 tub Dr. Oetker Chocolate fudge icing
• 6 x Dr. Oetker wafer daisies
• Small amount of green fondant
• 2 Cadbury’s Flake bars
• Packet Cadbury’s mini eggs
  

Method

For the nest:

1. Break up the shredded wheat into small pieces and place in a bowl. (If using cornflakes just place these directly into a bowl.
2. Prepare one 18cm round tin by lining it with clingfilm.
3. Melt the chocolate using a bain-marie method.
4. Pour the chocolate, a little at a time, into the cereal and mix well to combine.
5. Try to use the littlest amount of chocolate possible to allow all the cereal to be coated and allow it to start to stick together.
6. Press the cereal-chocolate mixture into the tin in the thin layer over the base and up the sides – this will create your “nest.”
7. Place the tin in the fridge and allow the chocolate to set hard.

For the cake:

1. Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease 2x 18cm round tins with a little margarine.
2. Put all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or a hand-held mixer for 1 minute, or until just combined.
3. Spoon the mixture into the tins and bake for 45-50 minutes. A skewer to the centre of the cakes should be pulled out clean.
4. Leave the cakes until completely cool before decorating.

For the decoration:

1. Roll out the green fondant and cut small leaf shapes out of it.
2. Use a cocktail stick to scratch the detail into the leaves.
3. Take the flake bars and cut them into small lengths to be more rough “branches” to add detail to the nest. 

For the assembly:

1. Sandwich the two cakes together with chocolate fudge icing.
2. Spread a generous amount of chocolate fudge icing across the top of the cake.
3. Press the chocolate-cereal “nest” onto the top of the cake and allow to set firmly.
4. Decorate the edges of the next with the fondant “leaves,” the flake “branches” and the wafer flowers, using the fondant icing to stick them.
5. Finally, using small dots of chocolate fudge icing, stick the mini eggs into the centre of the nest.

Then the cake is complete!

Perhaps save making this one til after Easter if you’ve given up chocolate for Lent, as there’s an awful lot of chocolate …and temptation!

Love, Chloe xx 

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