Gilded Chocolate And Caramel Maltesers Ombre Cake

You will need :- For Vanilla and Chocolate sponge cake

• 225 g very soft butter + 1 tbsp for greasing

• 225 golden caster sugar

• 175 g self-raising flour

• 85 g ground almonds

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 3 tbsp. ground flax seeds soaked in 3 tbsp. water ( 15 minutes )

• 150ml plain yogurt

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 5 tbsp. cocoa powder

• 225 g very soft butter + 1 tbsp for greasing

• 175 g light muscovado sugar

• 50 g dark muscovado sugar

• 85 g ground almonds

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 3 tbsp. ground flax seeds soaked in 3 tbsp. water ( 15 minutes )

• 150ml plain yogurt

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

You will need :- To assemble and frosting

• 1 can of caramel

• 140 g dark chocolate

• 140 g milk chocolate

• 300 ml double cream

• 4 packets of maltesers around 480 gms. ( more if you’re fan of maltesers )

• 1 can of gold edible spray

• 250 g chocolate fondant ? Gum Paste

• 1 packet of gold wires 22 gauge about 6″ long.

• Star shape cutter

• Rolling pin

• Few bubble tea straws

• Edible glue or sugar glue

• Small paint brush

• little cornstarch for dusting

Method :-

1. Pre heat oven to gas mark 4.
2. Grease and line bases of the two 20cm cake tins with baking paper.
3. For the vanilla and chocolate sponge combine all the ingredients except the cocoa and mix or blend to give a smooth texture.
4. Divide half of the mixture in another bowl and whizz in the 5 tbsp . cocoa.
5. Pour in the lined cake tin and bake for 30-32 minutes or until skewer inserted in comes out clean.
6. For the caramel and caramel chocolate sponge follow the same procedure above. ( step 1 to 5 )
7. While four of the sponges are cooling, make frosting.
8. Melt the both chocolate together in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.
9. Turn of the heat and remove the bowl and pour double cream over the melted chocolate and stir and let it cool till spreadable. ( it will take about two to three hours )
10. When the sponges are cool, place vanilla sponge on a serving plate or cake stand ( it’s a good idea to put a dollop of frosting underneath the sponge so that the cake doesn’t move around.
11. Spread a third of caramel over the vanilla sponge.
12. Now top with the caramel sponge and again spread a third of caramel over the caramel sponge.
13. Now top with the caramel chocolate sponge, spread remaining caramel and top with the chocolate sponge.
14. Now spread the chocolate frosting over the whole cake.
15. Once cake is covered with the chocolate frosting, take the maltesers and stick them all over the cake. Try and stick them in a nice line without any gaps..but if not who cares !!
16. Allow the maltesers to stick properly.
17. Now spray the gold spray and let it set for a while.
18. Start rolling out a fondant pretty thin, if fondant sticks to the surface use corn starch.
19. Cut out star shape ( if you need 5 cut out 10 )
20. Then paint or apply very little glue on the one side of the stars.
21. Then lay a wire in the centre of the star.
22. Stick another star on top of it. ( like a sandwich )
23. Let it dry overnight and when ready put several wires together and slide them into straw.
24. Then bend them to spread out.
25. Insert the straw into the cake.
26. I made few fondant balls and sprayed them with the gold spray to make gold Maltesers.

Made with buckwheat flour and wholemeal flour, this Rosemary and Sundried Tomato Buckwheat Soda Bread requires no kneading or waiting for bread to prove. For this simple bread recipe all you have to do is mix, shape, bake and serve! We have flavoured our buckwheat Irish soda bread with fresh rosemary, chopped sundried tomato olives and garlic.

This is the best soda bread ever, I’ve been looking for ever for a good recipe. I’ve tried loads. This is the best. Light tasty I can now make sandwiches… Fabulous bread Susan, a JCO reader, Oct. ’17

Easy & Quick Buckwheat Irish Soda Bread

This soda bread made with buckwheat flour is dense and crumbly yet so soft. It has a perfect dark crust giving the bread a gorgeous rustic finish – the kind that you see when you visit a bakery stall at your local Sunday market.

Breads made with buckwheat flour are a great low-carb option and the buckwheat flour makes this bread low GI.

The appeal of this buckwheat soda bread is how quick and easy it is to make.

As much as I love the light airiness of yeasted breads like these Tiger Rolls or Air Fryer Bread , sometimes, I need my bread on the table in a hurry. I’ve already got my Broccoli and Pear Soup cooking in the Instant Pot!

Another huge bonus of this bread is that do not have to even worry about the temperature! By that, I mean I do not have to prove the dough.

What is soda bread and why it is called Irish Soda Bread?

Soda bread is a quick bread made using bicarbonate of soda (baking soda, bread soda) as the leavening agent instead of yeast.

The bread is traditionally made from coarse white or wholemeal flour, baking soda, buttermilk and salt. It is actually the lactic acid in the buttermilk that reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to create the rise as it forms carbon dioxide.

The texture of soda bread is dense and rumbly rather than light and airy which is characteristic of yeasted breads.

Soda bread is often referred to as Irish Soda Bread although, interestingly, it was first created by Native Americans. They used pearl ash, a white salt made from wood ash, to leaven their bread.

The famous Irish bread that we know today began its history in 1830 when baking soda was first introduced to Ireland. Yeast was not readily available so buttermilk and bread soda were used as leavening agents. Ireland’s climate grew soft wheat flour rather than hard wheat flour (which is more suited to yeasted breads) so soda bread became common.

No-knead bread

As this is a no-yeast bread , the dough does not require any kneading.

In fact, over kneading the dough can toughen it. Once all the ingredients are well mixed, all this bread requires is shaping!

What to serve with Buckwheat Soda Bread

The warm flavourings in this recipe make this bread excellent as it is. Simply slather on some butter whilst the bread is still hot.

I love rustic breads with hot soups during the winter.

Ingredients for buckwheat Irish soda bread

Let’s see which ingredients we require for our soda bread.

• Buckwheat flour & Wholemeal flour – we have used a ratio of buckwheat to wholemeal flour. We have used chapatti flour here.

High protein bread flour is not required for this recipe.

• Buttermilk – the lactic acid in the buttermilk reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to make carbon dioxide.

As an alternative to buttermilk, whisk natural yogurt and water together. Use around 4-5 tbsp yogurt with tap water to make the amount of buttermilk required for this recipe.

• Baking soda – used as a leavening agent here
• Salt

Flavours

If you want a plain bread recipe, leave out these ingredients. It will still taste delicious!

• Rosemary – we have used fresh rosemary
• Sundried tomato – you can use either sun-dried tomato in oil from a jar or dry sun-dried tomatoes.

This is my all time favourite ingredient! I LOVE sun-dried tomatoes whether it is in sandwiches, pasta salads such as Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad or pasta sauces like Instant Pot Sundried Tomato Pasta Sauce . For a filling lunch, Sun dried Tomato, Chickpea Cakes with Cashew and Oats are always a good idea!

You can also make your own Sun-dried Cherry Tomatoes

• Olives – we have used a combination of green and black olives.
• Garlic – use fresh minced garlic for the best flavour

How to make the easiest soda bread with buckwheat flour

It is so easy to make buckwheat soda bread. It’s the perfect quick bread recipe for when you are in a hurry. You also need only a few store cupboard ingredients.

1. In a big mixing bowl place both flours.
2. Mix flours, add roughly chopped sundried tomatoes, rosemary, olives and garlic.
3. Now, add salt, black peppers and soda bicarbonate.
4. Combine well, add buttermilk and stir until you have soft sticky dough. Do not knead the dough.

1. Form this into a round shape on lightly floured baking sheet, score the dough deep cross or make a pattern how you fancy. Scoring a cross at the top of the bread will help the inside to bake as well.
2. Bake for 35-40 minutes, in the pre heated oven to gas mark 6. Keep checking until the crust is golden brown.

Leftover soda bread

Soda bread tends to go chewy so it is best eaten the day it is made so the best way to revive it is to toast it.

We toasted slices under the grill and topped with avocado for breakfast the next day.

If you do not have buttermilk at home then make an easy alternative at home. Whisk natural yogurt and water together. Use around 4-5 tbsp yogurt with tap water to make the amount of buttermilk required for this recipe. It can be used immediately. You can also directly substitute kefir for buttermilk.

Yes, you can use plain flour. Simply make a direct substitution between the wholemeal flour. The bread will taste great!

To make this soda bread gluten-free, use only buckwheat flour.

You can make vegan soda bread by using homemade vegan buttermilk. To make vegan buttermilk, you need two ingredients – soy milk and lemon juice. You need to use a plant-based milk that can curdle and soy milk is a good option. To make 420 mls buttermilk required in this recipe, pour 400 mls soy milk and 30 mls lemon juice in a jug. Wait for 1 minute before use (to thicken and curdle the buttermil). You may have around 10 mls left over.

More delicious Buckwheat recipes:

• Farali Buckwheat Upma – Spiced Buckwheat with vegetables
• EGGLESS BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES
• HAZELNUT BUTTER, BUCKWHEAT AND HONEY COOKIES
• Buckwheat, Blueberry, Cashew Smoothie with Chia Seeds
• BULGUR AND BUCKWHEAT STUFFED AUBERGINE

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Sundried Tomato Buckwheat Soda Bread

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Baking tray
• oven

Ingredients

• 250 g buckwheat flour
• 250 g wholemeal flour some for dusting
• 1 tsp. salt
• 420 ml buttermilk
• 1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
• 3-4 tbsp rosemary finely chopped
• ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 tsp. garlic minced
• 1 tsp. black pepper freshly ground
• 1 tsp. olives black and green finely chopped

Instructions

• Pre heat the oven to gas mark 6 or 200C/400F.
• Keep a baking tray with lightly dusted flour.
• In a very large bowl mix together both flours, salt and soda.
• Add rosemary, tomatoes, garlic, black pepper and chopped olives. ( Skip this step if you want to bake a plain bread )
• Now add buttermilk and stir until you have soft sticky dough.
• Do not knead the dough.
• Form this into round shape on lightly floured baking sheet, score the dough deep cross or make a pattern how you fancy.
• Dust the bread with flour.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, keep checking until the crust is golden brown.
• Another way to check if bread is done, the loaf sound hollow when tapped underneath.
• Leave it to cool on a wire rack and enjoy as soon as possible,

Notes

Nutrition

PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Note – This recipe has been updated from our recipe archives with new images and content, but the recipe remains the same. First time published in February 2015.