Serves 8-10
INGREDIENTS
375g cups plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp green gel food colour
120g unsalted butter, softened
330g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
250ml buttermilk
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Cream Cheese Icing:
450g cream cheese, room temp
120g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
300g icing sugar, sifted
1 pinch salt
To Decorate:
1 x waffle icecream cone
Gold chocolate coins
Edible gold stars or pearls (from the Creative Kitchen Gold Delight sprinkles)
Green sprinkles
Store-bought mini meringues
Store-bought green candy (we used Pocky, Kit Kat and matcha milk candy)
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan). Grease and line 3 x 20cm round cake pans.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
In a small bowl, mix food colouring and cocoa powder, adding just enough hot water to form a thin, smooth paste. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add vanilla bean paste and the green cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl frequently with a spatula. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk.
Beat in another third of the flour mixture, then the second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
In a small bowl, mix the vinegar and baking soda. Add it to the cake batter and stir well to combine.
Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans and allowing to cool completely before icing.
To make the icing, using an electric or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
Reduce the speed to low, add sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Once incorporated, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy.
TO DECORATE
Place one layer of cake on a large plate or cake board. Spoon 4 tbsp of cream cheese icing in the centre and use an offset spatula to smooth over the cake layer. Top with another layer of cake, repeating the icing process. Top with a final layer of cake, repeat the icing process and spreading excess icing around the sides of the cake. Use a wide spatula to gently smooth the icing.
Carefully tip green sprinkles around the sides of the cake. You will find a lot of sprinkles don’t stick, collect these up carefully and repeat the process until the sides of the cake are evenly covered in sprinkles.
Insert the point of the waffle cone into the centre of the cake. Fill with chocolate coins and gold stars. Decorate the rest of the top of the cake with meringues, green candy and extra sprinkles.