Easter Egg Nest Cake
Serves: 8 to 12
A decadent and fun Easter Egg Nest Cake decorated with sugar-coated chocolate Easter eggs. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake
- 250 g (8 oz) dark chocolate, 60-70% cocoa
- 125 g (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
- 6 eggs, separated
- 100 g (½ cup) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- 75 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Frosting
- 125 g (4 oz) dark chocolate, 60-70% cocoa
- 250 ml (1 cup) double cream, (heavy cream)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g (10 oz) sugar-coated chocolate eggs
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (without fan).
- Line the bottom of a 9 inch/23 cm springform cake tin with baking paper, but do not grease the sides of the tin.
- Melt the chocolate with the butter in a bain-marie (or a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water). If you have an induction stove, you can melt the chocolate and butter directly in a small saucepan over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Whisk 4 egg whites (keep the eggs yolks for later) until firm, then gradually add 100 g (1/2 cup) of sugar and whisk until the egg whites are glossy and have firm peaks.
- In a separate bowl, whisk 2 whole eggs with the reserved egg yolks, together with the remaining 75 g (1/3 cup) sugar.
- Fold in the vanilla extract and melted chocolate.
- Add a spoonful of the whisked egg white mixture and mix briskly.
- Then fold in the remaining egg white mixture, about one-third at a time.
- Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the cake is no longer wobbly in the centre.
- Use a small palette knife or similar to carefully run along the outside edge of the cake, to prevent it from sticking to the sides of the pan. As the cake cools, it will sink in the middle, and if the cake is stuck to the sides of the pan, the top of the cake may crack. This is nothing to worry about anyway because you will be covering the cake later with frosting.
- After 10 minutes, release the cake from the springform pan, but leave the cake on the wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, remove the springform pan.
- Use a cake lifter or similar tool to carefully remove the cake from the baking paper, and place it onto a large plate or cake platter.
For the Chocolate Frosting
- Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie (or a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water). If you have an induction stove, you can melt the chocolate directly in a small saucepan over low heat.
- While the chocolate is cooling, whip the cream until it is firm but not stiff - it should be soft enough to spread.
- Fold in the vanilla extract and melted chocolate.
- Spread the chocolate cream evenly over the cake.
- Decorate with the sugar-coated chocolate eggs.
Kitchen Notes
- MAKE-AHEAD TIPS
I often make the cake the night before serving and leave it (unfrosted) on the counter overnight. The cake will sink in the middle and crack as it cools. - STORAGE
Due to the cream in the chocolate frosting, any leftover cake should be kept in the fridge. - RECIPE CREDIT
This recipe has been adapted from Feast by Nigella Lawson. - OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer's handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.