Oh hello, four layers of brown sugar sponge, chocolate buttercream, hidden caramel, and a chocolate drip topped with Rolos, can only mean one thing. The most delicious Rolo Drip Cake ever!
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Brown Sugar Sponge
Brown sugar sponge is one of my favourite flavours of cake. It is made in the same way as a vanilla cake the only difference is you need to use light brown sugar instead of caster sugar.
The difference between using caster sugar and light brown sugar is that the light brown sugar gives the cake a lovely caramelly flavour. Perfect for replicating the caramel centre of a Rolo chocolate.
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You can use dark brown sugar instead and you will get a deeper caramelly flavour.
Whenever I am baking a cake, I always start by creaming together the butter and sugar. For this cake you can use either unsalted butter or a baking spread like Stork, both work perfectly and it is just down to personal preference.
Whenever I bake a cake, I always use 1 large egg for every 50g of sugar I use. So, in this recipe, I used 450g of light brown sugar which means I use 9 large eggs. I find this the perfect ratio for giving you a deliciously soft and moist cake.
Cake Tins
I used two 8” cake tins for this cake. I love the size of an 8” cake they are perfect for sharing. You can make this into a 6” cake though if you prefer. Just head down to the alternatives section below for the amounts.
The 8” round tins I use are also quite deep, so I could bake all four layers of the cake in the two tins. If your cake tins are shallower you might need to bake them in four tins as the cake will need space to rise in the oven.
Baking
The cakes do take a little longer to bake in the oven because we are baking all four layers in two tins. Because of this, I baked the cakes at a lower temperature to stop them from burning.
There are a few ways to tell if your cakes are baked. These cakes will be more golden in colour compared with a normal vanilla cake due to the light brown sugar in them. So you can test the cake with a cake skewer. Always test the thickest part of the cake and test both cakes as one might be cooking quicker than the other.
If the skewer comes out clean, then cakes are baked. If there is still some cake batter on there, pop them back into the oven for 3-4 minutes and repeat until the skewer comes out clean.
Another way to test if the cake is baked is to gently press down on the top of your cake. If your cake springs back to its original shape when you remove your finger, then the cake is ready.
Chocolate Buttercream
I went with a chocolate buttercream on this cake as the main flavours in Rolo chocolates are caramel.
To make the chocolate buttercream you MUST use unsalted butter. If you use a baking spread like Stork it will make the buttercream very soft and super sweet.
Hidden Caramel
Although the cake is caramel-flavoured I decided to add some hidden caramel in between each layer of cake and buttercream.
You will need to use a thick caramel. I used Carnation’s caramel or you could use a Duche de leche.
Chocolate Drip
I love a chocolate drip on a cake. There are a few different ways to do the chocolate drip. In this recipe, I made a chocolate ganache by mixing chocolate with cream and piping it around the edge of the cake to create a drip effect.
If you don’t have cream, you can add a tiny amount of oil to the melted chocolate, before piping it around the edge of the cake.
I went with a milk chocolate drip, but this would easily work with dark chocolate too.
Decoration
Whenever I decorate a cake, I always go for a swirl of buttercream on top but I decided to do something a little different with this cake.
I piped the leftover buttercream from around the side and top of the cake in a single layer using an open star piping tip, before adding some whole and halved Rolos on top.
I love that with the halved Rolos you can see the caramel begin to ooze out.
Alternatives
If you would rather make a 6” cake reduce the ingredients to
350 g Unsalted Butter or Stork
350 g Caster Sugar
350 g Self-Raising Flour
7 Large Eggs
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.
You can replace the light brown sugar with caster sugar to make a vanilla sponge or if you prefer you can replace it with dark brown sugar to get a deeper caramel flavour.
Equipment
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Rolo Drip Cake
Ingredients
To Make the Cake
- 460 g Unsalted Butter or Stork
- 450 g Light Brown Sugar
- 450 g Self-Raising Flour
- 9 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Chocolate Buttercream
- 750 g Icing Sugar
- 50 g Cocoa Powder
- 400 g Unsalted Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3-4 tbsp Whole Milk (optional)
For the Chocolate Drip
- 100 g Milk Chocolate
- 100 ml Double Cream
Extras
- 200 g Caramel
- 160 g Rolos (4 individual packets)
Instructions
To Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 170C (150C Fan). Line two 8” cake tins with greaseproof paper and leave them to the side.
- In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy
- Add in the remaining ingredients and whisk until all the ingredients are combined.
- Pour the mixture into the two cake tins and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. You will know they are ready when they are springy to touch.
- Leave them to cool in the cake tin for 15-20 minutes and then remove and put them on a wire rack to cool fully.
To Make the Chocolate Buttercream
- In a bowl mix together the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter until combined. If the mixture is too thick add 1tbsp of whole milk and mix again. Repeat until the buttercream is the desired consistency.
Putting it all together
- Once the cakes have cooled completely, level and half each cake so you end up with four layers.
- Place your first cake on your serving plate and spread the buttercream on top. Smooth using a spatula, don’t worry if any of the buttercream splodges out the side. Drizzle over the caramel.
- Repeat until all four cakes are stacked.
- Smooth the buttercream around the sides of the cake and into any gaps. Smooth using a cake smoother. Don't worry if you can still see the cake through the buttercream this is just our crumb coat.
- Pop the cake into the fridge for 30 minutes or so until the buttercream has set.
- Once the buttercream has set remove the cake from the fridge and spread the remaining buttercream onto the top of the cake. Using a palette knife smooth the buttercream onto the top of the cake and around the sides.
- Using your smoother, smooth around the sides, if there are any gaps fill these with the buttercream and continue to smooth around the sides until the cake is smooth. You will most likely take some of the buttercream off the cake if you do pop this back into your bowl.
- Smooth the top of your cake using your angled palette knife.
- Put the cake back into the fridge for 30 minutes for the buttercream to set.
- Any leftover buttercream pop into a piping bag with an open star nozzle and leave to one side.
Chocolate Drip
- Pop the chocolate in a bowl. In a separate bowl or jug add the double cream and heat in the microwave on 20-second bursts.
- You don't want the cream to be boiling but you don't want it to be too cool, the perfect temperature is when there is steam coming from the cream.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave for 5 minutes.
- Stir the chocolate and cream mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture smooth. If any stubborn pieces of chocolate haven't melted pop the whole mixture back into the microwave for 20 seconds and stir again.
- Add the chocolate to a piping bag and either snip the tip of the bag off or use a small round nozzle.
- Go around the edge of the cake and encourage it to drip. I do this by holding the piping bag ever so slightly away from the cake. If you have any leftover ganache pour it onto the top of the cake and smooth.
- Put the cake back into the fridge until the chocolate drip has set.
- Once the chocolate drip has set, pipe the buttercream onto the top of your cake and decorate with whole and halved Rolo chocolates.
Notes
- This cake will last for 3+ days.
- If you have any leftover caramel you can drizzle this over the top of the cake.
Wow! This cake is a work of art, it looks absolutely incredible and I love the idea of a brown sugar sponge (I don’t think I’ve ever had that before). This would be a perfect cake to bake for a party as I think it would make a great centerpiece/talking point.
Thank you so much!