INGREDIENTS:

• 300g cake flour
• Pinch of salt
• 20ml baking powder
• 75g cocoa powder
• 375g caster sugar
• 120g butter
• 3 eggs
• 10ml vanilla essence
• 375ml full-cream milk
• For the chilli-chocolate ganache:
• 200ml fresh cream
• 400g chocolate, chopped
• 50g butter
• 5ml Curry Me Home red chilli powder
• Roses or rose petals, to garnish

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 170C and grease and line three 25cm cake tins.

Sift the cake flour, salt, baking powder, cocoa powder and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl.

Add the butter to the sifted dry ingredients. Use the hand-held beater of a cake mixer and beat the ingredients until they have a sandy consistency that is free of lumps.

Beat the eggs, vanilla essence and full-cream milk together. Pour half the egg mixture into the mixing bowl and beat slowly. Pour in the other half of the milk mixture and beat until smooth.

Divide mixture into the greased tins and bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Leave the cakes in the tin for a few minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack. Allow the cakes to cool completely before assembling them.

To make the chilli-chocolate ganache:

Boil the cream in a saucepan then add it to the chopped chocolate pieces, stirring to melt it over a low heat.

Stir in the butter and red chilli powder. Leave aside to cool. The mixture should be slightly warm when icing the cakes.

To assemble the cake:

Leave the lining on the cakes and divide the ganache over the three cakes, saving a little for the sides. Use a spatula to spread the ganache over the cakes. Remove the lining and sandwich the cakes. Use the remaining ganache to ice the sides of the cake. Garnish with rose petals or whole flowers.

SERVES: 10

TIME: 1 hour + cooling