Portal Cake

About
This recipe serves 10-15 (or 1). It is based on the Portal Cake from Half-Life. This recipe is from the blog Gourmet Gaming.

Ingredients

 * 175g / 1¾ Cups Butter
 * 75g / ¾ Cup Dark Chocolate
 * 200g / 7oz Whole Milk
 * 1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
 * 300g / 2⅓ Cups Plain Flour
 * 375g / 1¾ Cups Golden Caster Sugar
 * 25g / ¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
 * 1 Teaspoon Bicarbonate/Baking Soda
 * 100ml / ½ Cup Espresso
 * Salt
 * 2 Eggs

For the Filling

 * 1 Can (425g / 15oz ) Cherries (Drained)
 * 4 Tablespoons Black Cherry Conserve
 * 2 Tablespoons Kirsch (or Cherry Juice)
 * 500ml / 2¼ Cups Double/Heavy Cream
 * 5 Tablespoons Icing/Confectioners Sugar

For the Decoration:

 * 100g / 3.5 oz Dark Chocolate Bar
 * 8 Cherries
 * 1 White Birthday Candle

Baking

 * 1) Grease the Sandwich Tins with a little butter and line with the Greaseproof Paper/Baking Parchment. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Melt the 75g Dark Chocolate and Butter together over a bain-marie.
 * 2) Add the Lemon Juice to the Whole Milk and set aside for 10 minutes. Combine the Flour, Golden Caster Sugar, Cocoa Powder, Bicarbonate Soda and a pinch of Salt together in a large mixing bowl.
 * 3) After 10 minutes, whisk the Eggs and Whole Milk together, then add the Chocolate and Butter, mixing until well combined.
 * 4) Add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Add the Espresso and mix well until smooth. Divide the cake mixture evenly between the three prepared Sandwich Tins and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes – an inserted skewer should come out clean to indicate they are ready.
 * 5) Once the Cakes are baked, set them aside to cool slightly before removing from the Sandwich Tins to cool completely.

Preparing

 * 1) Once the cakes have cooled, take what will be the middle layer of cake and pierce it several times. Brush over with the Kirsch or Cherry Juice.
 * 2) Mix the drained Canned Cherries with the Black Cherry Conserve. Whisk the Double/Heavy Cream with the Icing/Confectioners Sugar until it’s softly firm and spreadable. Keep 4 tablespoons of cream aside for decorating the cake.
 * 3) Take the bottom layer of cake and fill with the Cream, adding half the Cherries. Top with the Kirsch/Cherry soaked middle layer, then top this with Cream and the rest of the Cherries. Add the final layer on top of this to complete the cake construction.
 * 4) Use the remainder of the Cream to completely cover the entire cake, top and sides.

Decorating

 * 1) Taking the Bar of Dark Chocolate, use a large, sharp knife to create chocolate shavings. #Alternatively, use a grater to grate the chocolate – or use a combination of the two.
 * 2) Sprinkle the chocolate shavings onto the top of the cake, and gently press the chocolate onto the sides of the cake, covering all the cream.
 * 3) Fill a Piping Bag with the 4 tablespoons of cream set aside, and using a nozzle, pipe 8 flowers of cream on the top of the cake.
 * 4) Place a fresh Cherry onto each of the cream flowers, then place the White Birthday Candle in the centre before serving.