“Nothing says ‘I Love You’ like the sweet, decadent aphrodisiac that is chocolate, and what better way to show your love than to bake it in a cake with locally made and Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards Best New Product nominee, UMIUM Chocolate Coconut Spread? Let’s bake love!” — Trevanne Donegal Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Award-winning caterer for The Layer Cake.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsps baking powder

1 1/2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp espresso powder

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 eggs

2 tsps vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

2 oz melted chocolate

Coconut flakes

10 oz UMIUM Chocolate Coconut Spread

2 cups heavy cream

3 tbsps cocoa powder

4 tbsps icing sugar

3 oz dark chocolate

Method

Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.

For the cake:

Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.

Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Mix in 4 oz of UMIUM Coconut Chocolate Spread and 2 oz melted chocolate.

Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about one minute to add air to the batter. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.

Cut both cakes in half, each approximately 1 1/2” in height. Now you have 4 layers to assemble your cake.

Cake Filling:

Melt 2 oz of dark chocolate in 3 oz of heavy cream and fold in 6 oz of UMIUM Coconut Chocolate Spread. This will slightly thin out the UMIUM to the consistency needed so it’s easy to spread on the cake.

Whip the remaining heavy cream until fluffy, ensuring not to over-whip until the cream churns to butter. Add cocoa powder and icing sugar and whip again. Keep the chocolate whipped cream refrigerated until ready to use.

Start assembling your cake by spreading the melted chocolate on one of the chocolate cake layers, but do not go too close to the edge of the cake. A piping bag will come in very handy to decorate and assemble your cake.

Fill up the piping bag with the chocolate whipped cream and pipe a ring around the edge of the cake (covering the exposed part of the cake where the chocolate spread was not applied), then pipe two additional circles until the cake is basically covered.

Sprinkle coconut flakes on top of the whipped cream and repeat the process by stacking another layer of cake on top. If your kitchen is warm you might have to stick the cake in the refrigerator after each layer so it stays firm and is easier to work with. It requires a little bit more time but it’s worth it!

After all four layers are stacked, you can now decorate your cake any way you like. We went with chocolate whipped cream with coconut flakes and a little shaved dark chocolate and UMIUM swirl. Chocolate and strawberries are a delicious classic combination. Happy Valentine’s Day!