Directions

Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.  Grease 2 x 12" square cake pans and line the bottoms with baking (parchment) paper.

2. Place all the cake ingredients into a food processor or bowl of electric mixer and mix until well combined.  Pour into the 2 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 40 minutes or until the cakes have risen and spring back with gently touched.

4. Allow the cakes to cool completely before refrigerating in the cake tins.  Ensure the cakes are very cold before attempting to cut them into shape.

5. Carefully remove your cakes from the pans.  Using your cookie cake template (I used my Cauldron Stencil), place the template on top of the cake and carefully cut around the shape using a sharp, serrated knife.  Place the cut shapes back into the fridge while you make the cheesecake filling.

Chocolate Buttercream

1. Place butter into the bowl of an electric mixer. With mixer on medium speed beat the butter until creamy. 
   

2. Add the icing sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until it just comes together and then increase to high speed and beat until well combined, smooth and glossy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
   

3. If the buttercream is too soft to pipe you can pop it into the fridge to firm up a little or add more icing sugar to the mixture. If the buttercream is too firm you can add a little milk (1 teaspoon at a time) until you reach the desired texture.
   

OPTIONAL: Vanilla Buttercream

1. Place butter into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft and creamy.
   

2. Leave it beating at medium speed as you gradually add in the icing sugar, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. This can take 7 – 8 minutes.
   

3. Once the sugar has been incorporated into the butter add the vanilla. Beat in the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the icing is thick, smooth and glossy.  Mix in desired food colour.
   

Cake Assembly

1. Place the buttercream mixture into a piping bag fitted with your choice of nozzle.  I used a 13mm fine star nozzle.

2. Pipe the buttercream onto the bottom cake layer and refrigerate it for 10 minutes to firm up the buttercream.  Replace the nozzle if you want to use a different one for the top layer.  

3. Place the top cake layer onto the cake and pipe the buttercream on.  Refrigerate again for 15 - 20 minutes to firm up the buttercream.

4. OPTIONAL: You may like to colour some vanilla buttercream to add to the top of the cauldron.  Pipe this buttercream where desired.

5. Add your choice of cake toppers onto the top of the cake and you are done.  You can refrigerate until it is time to serve.