Dark Chocolate Mud Cake with Coffee Liquor, filled with boozy Raspberry sauce and Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Covered with Pink and Blue Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Dripping Rainbow White Chocolate Ganache. Decorated with Rainbow Lollipops! The most fun you can have with a birthday cake!
Happy Birthday to meeeeee!! Yep, today is my birthday! It’s my 30th birthday in fact, the big 3-0! And in an attempt to deny the fact I’m getting old I decided to make myself an OTT birthday cake that any kid would love – it’s Willy Wonka meets Dr Seuss meets Deliciousness! Because even though I may now be 30, it doesn’t mean I have to act it!
The cake doesn’t just look amazing, it’s damn tasty too! And while the outside is definitely my inner child coming out to play, the inside is for adults only! It’s a delicious and rich dark chocolate mudcake with coffee liqour, filled with a boozy raspberry sauce – because that’s the best part of being an adult right? I can do what I want – I can make a cake that looks like it’s made for a child but fill it with booze and nobody can stop me! It’s also filled and covered with lots of smooth, creamy Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and then dripping with rainbow white chocolate ganache. Then, of course, I covered it in lollipops, candy and white chocolate candy bark! This is one hell of a cake – it is my birthday after all! Nobody can say I don’t celebrate in style, right?!
I’ve gone a bit OTT with my baking lately, first my Anti-Gravity Creme Egg Brownie Nest and now this huge and incredibly colourfully decorated cake! This is what happens when a baker panics about turning 30 – they take it out on cakes! And this is a BIG cake! But I promise I’ll be going back to my regular, everyday awesome bakes after this – I have of really awesome, simple recipes coming up very soon! But what’s life without a little (or a lot) colour? This was definitely a fun cake to make, and even more fun to look at and eat!
Today I will be sharing the recipe for the mud cake, vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, raspberry sauce, white chocolate ganache and white chocolate candy bark! It’s going to be long one, so bear with me! I’ll keep it as simple as I can so I don’t overwhlem you, so if you have any questions just ask!
Dark Chocolate Mud Cake with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Raspberry Sauce, White Chocolate Ganache and White Chocolate Candy Bark
Prep
Cook
Total
Rainbow Lollipop Birthday Cake - Dark Chocolate Mud Cake with Coffee Liquor, filled with boozy Raspberry sauce and Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Covered with Pink and Blue Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Dripping Rainbow White Chocolate Ganache. Decorated with Rainbow Lollipops! The most fun you can have with a birthday cake!
Ingredients
For the chocolate mudcake:
- 375g unsalted butter
- 375g dark chocolate, chopped
- 75ml Kahlua or Tia Maria
- 225ml water
- 1tbsp espresso powder
- 225g self raising flour
- 225g plain flour (AP)
- 90g Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp bicarb (baking soda)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 750g sugar
- 8 eggs
- 100ml Vegetable oil
- 190ml Buttermilk
For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 660g Unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 10 egg whites
- 525g sugar
- 1.5 tbsp vanilla extract
- Food colouring (optional).
For the Raspberry Sauce:
- 200g Raspberries
- 1tsp lemon juice
- 50g sugar
- 5 tbsp blackberry liquor, vodka or rum
For the white chocolate ganache:
- 300g white chocolate, finely chopped
- 150ml double cream
- Food colouring (optional)
For the white chocolate candy bark:
- 200g White Chocolate, chopped
- Nerds or other candy
To decorate:
- Sprinkles
- Nerds
- Lollipops
- Any candy you like!
Instructions
To make the mud cake:
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Grease three 8" round cake tins.
- Add butter, water and espresso to medium saucepan and bring to a boil on a medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in kahlua or tia maria. Add chopped chocolate and stir until melted.
- Sift flours, cocoa, sugar, bicarb and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in eggs, oil, buttermilk and chocolate mixture. Beat with a wooden spoon until all combined.
- Pour equal amounts into each cake tine and bake for 60 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack.
To make the SMBC:
- Put the egg whites and sugar in a large, heatproof bowl and whisk together. Bring a large saucepan with a couple of inches of water to a boil and place the bowl on top and whisk the eggs, heat until 150F and the sugar is dissolved.
- Remove from heat and whisk the eggs on a medium speed for about 10 minutes, until the outside of the bowl is warm to touch. Continue whisking on a lower speed until completely cooled.
- Turn the speed back up to medium and add a piece of butter one at a time, beating for at least 5 seconds inbetween each addition. Continue beating until smooth and glossy, don't worry if the mixture separates towards the end, keep beating and it'll come back together.
- Beat in the vanilla and colouring (if using), separate into bowls if doing more than one colour.
To make the raspberry sauce:
- Put the raspberries, lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to boil on a medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in liquor. Leave to cool completely.
To make the white chocolate ganache:
- Put the finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
- Bring the cream to a gentle boil in a small saucepan, on a medium heat. Pour half of the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Pour the rest over and stir until melted and smooth. Separate into bowls and add a couple drops of food colouring and stir, use rainbow colours or any colours you like.
To make the white chocolate candy bark:
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until melted and smooth.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the melted chocolate out in a thin layer over the tray. Sprinkle nerds over the top. Pop in the freezer for three hours. Use a knife to score the bark and snap into pieces.
To Assemble:
- Place one cake layer on your serving stand/plate. Spread a thin layer of SMBC on top and spoon a few tablespoons of raspberry sauce on top and spread out. Place another cake layer on top and repeat. Add the third layer.
- Spread a thin layer of SMBC around the sides of the cake, this is called a crumb coat and will help you cover the cake smoothly. Leave in a cool place for 20 minutes.
- Spread the rest of the SMBC over the sides and top and smooth.
- Press spinkles around the bottom of the cake, don't worry about making a mess!
- Spoon the ganache on the edges of the cake and allow some to drip down. Pour the rest on top of the cake.
- Now it's time to decorate, stick lollipops on the top, press bark shards into the top and scatter with gumballs, nerds and whatever you like!
Notes
Mud cake recipe adapted from My Cupcake Addition
Will keep in the fridge for 5 days, bring to room temperature before serving
So, this is how I handle turning 30 – if you ask me, I think this is the BEST way to handle anything – with lots of sugar, chocolate and alcohol! I will definitely be having a few non-cake drinks this evening too. I do hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do, and please take a virtual slice – there’s plenty to go around!!
This Rainbow Lollipop Birthday Cake was a lot of fun to make and a labour of love, so if you liked this recipe please do share it using the share buttons on the side or at the bottom of the post! And let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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Sharing with: Foodie FriDIY, Fiesta Friday with Sonal and Laurie, Saucy Saturdays
Happy 30th Birthday!! OMG what a cake! Sounds delicious and is totally candy to the eye. Stunning cake.
Thank you Sara!
Happy 30th Michelle!
Aww thank you Johanne <3
I can only imagine how the eyes of the Little Ones — well, anyone’s, for that matter — light up when this cake is brought to the table. Fantastic!
Thank you so much!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE!! 😀
That cake is one massively awesome project! I LOVE IT! I wish you were around to bake me this for my birthday 😉 I love that the inside is all adult but the outside is all magical!
With this cake, I’m sure your birthday was one heck of a day! Pinned and sharing 🙂
Thank you so much Dini! I would totally bake you one for your birthday if I could!!
Happy birthday Michelle! !
The cake is absolutely gorgeous, wish I had the talent to make a beauty like this.
Thank you Jehan!
You could totally make a cake like this, tbh it takes more patience than talent for this kind of cake! It’s a lot of fun too though 😉
WOW!! What a stunner of a cake, Michelle. 😛 Happy Birthday!
Thank you Nancy!
Happy Birthday Michelle. You certainly have found a very fun way to celebrate the day, and shared your fun with your guests and readers.
Thank you Hilda!
Happy Birthday Michelle 🙂
WOW, now THIS is a birthday cake! My eyes went big as saucers when I saw it first and now I jut really want a great big piece. lol
Happy Birthday Michelle! 🙂 Welcome to your dirty 30s, your cake is fit for a queen! I love it. enjoy
Thank you, Mary!
WOW, that is quite a creation!! It really does look like you were channeling your inner Willy Wonka. I hope you had an stupendous birthday!
Hahah thank you!
And I had a wonderful birthday, thank you
Happy birthday Michelle!!! 🙂 This cake is just pure whimsy and fun…and I love the sound of the inside too! What a way to celebrate your 30th birthday!
Thank you so much Laurie!
That is one showstopper cake!! Gorgeous and so much fun! Happy birthday ?
Thank you so much Anjana!
What, you’re 30?! Well, you’re practically…..just a kid! ? And your cake proves it, haha… But anyone would be happy with that cake, young or old. It’s spectacular!! Just so awesome! I might copy it for my kids’ birthdays ? Happy BIRTHDAY, Michelle!! ???
Haha thanks Angie, I’ve been feeling old so I liked that ha!
Thank you so much!!
Happy Birthday! I am in awe! What an amazing cake!! Just shared it on my Facebook page — because, WOW! It really is spectacular!
Aww thank you so much Michelle!
It looks even more amazing here than the pics you shared on FB!! Its incredible Michelle, take a bow!!! And Happy Birthday xx
Aww thank you Naina!
How cute is this! My goal is to make an amazing cake like this. They just look so fun!
Aww thank you Kristy! You totally should, it was so much fun to make, I was like a kid in a candy store 😀
Holy moly! This is one heck of a cake and the perfect way to celebrate the big 3-0! Happy Birthday!!!
Thank you Justine!
How do you assemble the lollipops so that they stand on the cake and not fall all over the place
Hi Gilda,
Apologies for the delayed reply! The lollipop sticks pierce through to the bottom of the cake so they have no problem standing up, as the cake holds them up!