1. Line & grease the springform tins. Preheat oven to 160C.

2. Separate the eggs placing the yolks in one medium sized mixing bowl and the egg whites in another medium sized mixing bowl.

3. Put the chocolate and the sour cream in a small bowl and warm in a microwave for about 20 seconds, stir and then heat again in 10 second bursts until no lumps remain.

4. Add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, suga to the egg yolks. Crush the coffee granules through a sieve into the mix. Add the salt and then 140ml water. Whisk it all together.

5. Sieve in the cocoa powder and self raising flour into the mix and briefly whisk together.

6. Using a clean whisk, whip up the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

7. Tip the egg whites into the other bowl and gently fold together until no blobs of egg white show.

8. Pour into the three 9 inch cake tins and bake for about 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Step Two – Salted Caramel Icing

​

250g golden caster sugar            

225g unsalted butter, chopped into chunks

50ml double cream                      

approx 1/2 tsp salt to taste

1. Put the sugar in a small pan. Dribble a couple of tablespoons of water around the pan and then place it on a medium heat. Gently stir the sugar until it all becomes wet then remove the spoon and don’t put it back in - you want to swirl the pan from now on rather than stir it.

2. Keep on heating it for a few minutes until eventually it will go a nutty brown colour and will just start to smoke (don’t worry!) Immediately turn it off the heat and drop in the chunks of butter. Be very careful as the sugar is incredibly hot! It will bubble quite furiously to start with but stir it in until it has all melted.

3. Once it has melted, pour in the double cream until it has all mixed in.

4. Finally add the salt to taste - once again please be careful as the caramel will still be very hot! Leave the caramel to completely cool, if necessary in a basin of cold water.

Step Three – Chocolate Ganache

​

100g dark chocolate - about 70% cocoa                  

100g double cream                                            

50g unsalted butter                                                      

50g icing sugar

1. Put the cream and butter in a small pan and gently warm until you can just start to see it simmering. Turn off heat.

2. Meanwhile chop the chocolate into small piece and then add to the hot cream one minute after turning off the heat. Wait a couple of minutes and then stir it. Make sure you have no lumps in there. Set aside to cool.

​

​

Step Four – Construction

​

1. Once the caramel is cool whisk it for a couple of minutes - it will become pale and fluffy. Put in a piping bag and then pipe blobs around the edge of the first layer of sponge. Then spread the rest of the icing over the centre of the sponge.

2. Aligning the cocktail sticks carefully place the 2nd layer on top. Repeat the above step with the piping and icing. Place the 3rd sponge on top.

3. Once the chocolate mixture has started to cool and is fairly stiff put in a piping bag and then pipe neat blobs all around the edge of the cake in a circle before making your way to the middle.