The Festive Season is one of those times of the year where foodies really
can get stupid-crazy excited and experiment with “alles”. And naturally, a big
event for a foodie is Christmas dinner/lunch or brunch. This recipe is perfect
for this type of do. Especially, if Christmas pudding isn’t your cup of tea or
ho, ho, ho punch. It’s yummy, moreish, a SUPER EASY sheet cake to make and
decadently perfect to share with loved ones.
INGREDIENTS
*To make pumpkin puree take package pumpkin, cut a slit and place in the microwave for seven minutes; take out and blitz in a blender; you’ll need three cups for the recipe.
INSTRUCTIONS
Chop the chocolate roughly. It doesn’t matter if it mixes. Set aside for
later.
In a large bowl mix together all the cake ingredients except for the eggs, flour, and chopped up dark and milk chocolate and nuts.
Once mixed, at the three eggs and blend them in.
Now add the flour and stir until a batter is formed.
Add almost all of the chocolate (keep just a bit for decorating) and
chopped nuts. Stir until well incorporated.
Pour the batter into a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) tray that has been lined with a silicone mat or baking paper and sprayed with non-stick spray.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Now for the cream cheese layer… In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, coffee and vanilla essence and blend.
Once blended, take a silicone spatula and gently spoon the mix on the
cake mix – don’t push hard or it will mix the two layers.
And now for all your resistance to crumble…Add all the crumb topping ingredients in a bowl and blend. Don’t soften the butter before mixing (or it won’t make a crumbly texture – add more flour if it’s too smooth).
Carefully distribute the crumble topping on the cream cheese layer (don’t
squish down).
Place in the oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes (the less time in the oven, the more it is like a pudding rather than a cake). Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tray.
If you would like to make the topping/sour cream icing (it’s yummy!): add the boiling water, coffee and sugar together; once stirred and the sugar dissolved allow to cool completely before adding the sour cream. Once the sour cream is added – mix through and taste. Adjust the topping with icing sugar to balance it/reach your desired sweetness. And it’s ready for you to drizzle over the cake. You can whip it if you prefer stiff peaks and you can keep the mix in the fridge for several days. Yay.
Cut the cake …
And dress each slice in chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and edible glitter (optional).