Four layers of chocolate cake, chocolate ganache frosting decorated with chocolate bunnies and fondant carrots. Yes, this Carrot Fault Line cake is chocolate overload!
I know I have been a bit heavy on the chocolate recipes recently, with my Malteser Muffins and Easter Brownies but it is Easter after all. If you can’t have chocolate at Easter then when can you?
This cake is defiantly over the top and I am obsessed with it! It is also the only cake I have made using chocolate ganache frosting and I just love how it looks (and tastes!)
Ingredients
For the Cake
600g Unsalted Butter or Stork
600g Light Brown Sugar
550g Self-Raising Flour
50g Cocoa Powder
12 Large Eggs
1tsp Baking Powder
1tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Carrots and Leaves
250g Orange Ready to Roll Icing
250g Green Ready to Roll Icing
For the Chocolate Bunnies
100g White Chocolate
Pink Food Colouring
For the Chocolate Ganache
700g Dark Chocolate
600ml Double Cream
For the Fault Line
Edible Gold Paint
Extras
Mini Eggs
Before you Start Baking
As always before you start baking you should line your cake tins. In this recipe, I used 2 8” and two 6” round cake tins. I found it easier for the fault line to have the cakes smaller. You could make four 8” and cut two down a little it is completely up to you.
I line the bottom and sides of my cake tins with baking parchment and leave them to one side.
Preheat your oven before you start baking. This way as soon as your cake batter is ready you can pop it straight into the oven.
Chocolate Cake
I made the chocolate cake in one batch and split it between the four cake tins.
I creamed together the butter and sugar until pale in colour and fluffy. Whenever I make a chocolate cake, I always use light brown sugar. It gives the cake such a deliciously fudgy texture.
Add in the remaining ingredients and mix until completely combined and smooth. The cake mix shouldn’t take too much mixing to come together. You don’t want to overbeat the mix as this can cause issues when the cake bakes.
You want the mix to have just come together and be smooth. Split the mixture evenly between your four tins. This should roughly be 450g in the 6” and 600g in the 8” cake tins.
How Do I Know When the Cakes Are Baked?
There are a few different ways to tell when your cakes are baked. The first is by gently pressing the top of the cake. If it springs back when you remove your finger then it is ready. If there is a finger-sized dent in the cake then pop it back into the oven for 3-4 minutes and repeat.
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Another way to test the cake is by using a cake skewer. Test the thickest part of the cakes, if the cake comes out clean then the cake is ready. If there is still cake batter on it pop it back into the oven for 3-4 minutes and repeat.
Cooling the Cakes
Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for 20 minutes. Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
A little tip, if your cakes are domed, turn them upside down onto the wire rack to cool. The weight of the cake will help flatten the dome, meaning you won’t need to level them off later.
Carrots and Leaves
Once the cakes have cooled, level them off if they need and stack them up. One 8” cake on the bottom, the two 6” cakes in the middle and the final 8” cake on top.
This will help give you an idea of the length you need to make the carrots and stalks.
Roll out the orange icing and create 6 carrots. Cut these into halves lengthways. And pop onto an oven tray lined with baking trays.
Now roll out the green icing and using a large and small leafcutter cut out two large and one small cutter for nine carrots.
Brush a small amount of water on the bottom of the smallest leave and wrap it around a cocktail stick.
Brush a small amount of water onto the bottom of one of the larger leaves and press the second larger leave on top. Wrap these two leaves around the smaller ones on the cocktail stick and gently place them onto the baking tray next to the carrots.
To make the bunnies I used this mould.
Add the white chocolate to a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave in 20-second bursts. Stir in between each burst to ensure it doesn’t burn. Split the mixture between two bowls and add pink food colouring to one. The food colouring needs to be oil-based. It can not contain any water or the chocolate with seize.
Pop the chocolate into two separate piping bags, with a small piping tip. Or snip the tip of the piping bag off. Pipe the pink chocolate into the tail and feet pads. Cover with the white chocolate and pop them into the fridge to set.
Chocolate Ganache
To make the chocolate ganache, add the cream to a large saucepan or a large heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until just before it is boiling. Add in the chocolate and leave for five minutes.
After five minutes stir until the chocolate and cream come together and is thick. Put it into the fridge stirring every few minutes until it becomes thick and similar to the consistency of peanut butter.
Putting it All Together
Place the first 8” cake onto your cake board sticking it down with a little of the ganache. Spread the ganache on top and sides of the cake. Smoothing with a cake smoother.
Don’t worry if you can still see parts of the cake through the ganache this is just our crumb coat.
Add the 6” cake on top and spread the ganache on top and sides. Repeat with the 6” cake and then add the 8” cake on top.
Press the carrots into the side of the cake.
Pop the cake into the fridge for the chocolate to set.
Once the crumb coat has set. Remove the cake from the fridge and spread the renaming buttercream around the two 8” cakes. Don’t worry about making the top and bottom of the too neat. As this is a fault line cake it can be slightly messy around the tops.
Put the cake back into the fridge for the chocolate to set.
Once the chocolate has set decorate the top with your leaves, rabbits and chocolate shavings.
Paint around the edge of the fault line with edible gold paint.
Equipment
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If you do have any questions about this Rabbit Fault Line Cake or any other recipes on my blog you can contact me either by sending me a DM on social media or an email. You can find all my details on the right-hand side of this page.
