Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan.
Lightly grease and line two 8 inch round cake tins with greaseproof baking
paper.
Dissolve the coffee granules in
the boiling water, add the vanilla extract and set aside.
Cream together the sugars and baking
spread in a bowl for 1-2 mins, until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time along
with a large spoonful of the flour, mixing in-between each.
Fold in the cocoa powder, coffee
and remaining flour.
Divide the mixture equally
between the two tins and bake in the oven for approx. 25 mins.
Leave the sponges in the tins for
10 mins, then remove and cool on a wire rack upside down to flatten the tops.
Vanilla Sponge
Lightly grease and line two 8
inch round cake tins with greaseproof baking paper.
Cream together the caster sugar
and baking spread in a bowl for 1-2 mins, until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time along
with a large spoonful of the flour, mixing in-between each.
Mix in the vanilla extract.
Fold in the remaining flour,
using a spatula/metal spoon.
Divide the mixture equally
between the two tins and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/160°C fan for approx. 25 mins.
Leave the sponges in the tins for
10 mins, then remove and cool on a wire rack upside down to flatten the tops.
Ganache
Chop the chocolate into small
pieces and add to a mixing bowl.
Put the cream in a microwaveable
jug and heat on a high heat setting in the microwave for 60 secs, stirring
halfway through.
Pour the cream over the chocolate
and allow it to sit for a few minutes.
Stir the chocolate and cream
together until smooth. If there are still lumps of chocolate remaining, heat
the ganache in the microwave in 20 seconds bursts, stirring in between.
Pop the ganache into the fridge
to chill for around 30 mins, or until it starts to thicken and feels cool to
the touch.
Whisk the ganache either in a
stand mixer using the beater attachment or with a hand whisk. Do this until the
ganache is just stiff enough to hold its shape. If the ganache is too runny
after whisking, put it back into the fridge for 10 minutes and whisk again.
Cake Assembly
Using a 5 ½ inch/14 cm cookie cutter or a bowl of a similar size as a guide, cut a circle into each cooled sponge.
Then using a 3 inch/8 cm cookie cutter, cut a circle out of the centre of the remaining sponges. You will end up with 4 large hollow circles, 4 medium hollow circles and 4 small full circles of sponge.
Assemble the cake by placing one large chocolate sponge circle onto a serving plate/board or cake stand. Then fill with a medium vanilla sponge circle and a small chocolate circle.
Spread a thin layer of ganache on top and repeat for the next layer using opposite sponge flavours. Replicate for the remaining two layers.
Cover the cake using the rest of the ganache
Recipe Note
Wrap the cooled sponges in cling
film and pop them into the fridge for 60 minutes before cutting into circles.
This will make the sponges firmer and easier to cut.
