I set myself a task this Easter, I wanted to create an undeniably easter-y cake which looks much harder than it is, because Easter seems to take me by surprise every year and I’m always a little disorganised. Therefore, I assume many of you probably are too.
It’s taken a bit of thought, but in celebration of all things egg related, I’m excited to bring you this cake which is SO much fun! It is basically two simple chocolate yoghurt cakes with meringue and cream sandwiched in the middle and ganache on top. If you think this cake’s pièce de résistance (the nest) is difficult – think again. Its made from noodles and chocolate and shaped in a small bowl!
I’m delighted to bring you this second post in partnership with Woolworths and their premium Gold range of products, and for this recipe I’m showcasing two of the premium products from the Gold Range, their incredible Hand Finished Chocolate Hazelnut Pavlova (used for the filling) and their Greek Yoghurt Madagascan Vanilla Bean (used in the cakes). The addition of both really do take this cake up another level.
You can really use any store bought meringue for the filling, but the chocolate hazelnut pavlova is a perfect match with the chocolate cake. It is hand finished, which means everyone will think you’ve made meringue yourself just to put in the filling! All I’ve done to incorporate it is break it up into pieces and mix it into whipped cream and sugar. The crunchy meringue pieces and hazelnuts add a wonderful element to the cake and are a great textural surprise when eating it. Also, with the addition of Woolworth’s Gold Madagascan Vanilla Yoghurt to the cakes they have a great unexpected tang and flavour that is hard to put your finger on.
It may seem like there are many steps involved, but with the handy use of your microwave to make the ganache and melt chocolate for the nest, you will be pleasantly surprised by how it all comes together – and how great the end product looks. My usual group of taste testers at Opera Australia can also vouch for how great the cake tasted as it was devoured today with gusto.
COMPETITION
Fancy a little help with paying for the Easter groceries? Well, thanks to Woolworths, Chew Town has a $100 Woolworths voucher to give away to Australian readers. To be in with a chance to win, follow Chew Town on Instagram and re-gram the Easter Egg Post with an answer to the question “what is your favourite easter time treat?” and the hashtags #WoolworthsGold and #whatsfordinner. The tastiest answer will be chosen and notified via instagram on Wednesday 8 April 2015.
Chocolate Easter Egg Nest Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Yoghurt Cakes
- 1 1/2 cups plain flour
- 3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Woolworths Gold Greek Yoghurt - Madagascan Vanilla Bean
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee
- Pinch of sea salt
- 3 eggs
- 200g melted butter
Filling
- 200g Woolworths Gold Hand Finished Chocolate and Hazelnut Meringue (1/2 a pavlova required)*
- 1 cup thickened cream
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
Ganache Topping
- 110g dark chocolate
- 25g unsalted butter
Egg Nest
- 20g vermicelli noodles
- 60g dark chocolate
- 110g packet of small easter eggs**
Directions
Preheat oven to 160 Degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit). Grease and line two 18cm round cake pans.
Combine flour, bicarb soda, cocoa and brown sugar in a bowl, and stir in coffee, yoghurt, eggs and melted butter. Divide the mixture evenly between the two pans and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
While the cakes are cooling, make the nest. Break up the vermicelli noodles into small pieces and place in a bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in short bursts then pour over the vermicelli noodles and mix till well combined. Take the chocolate coated noodles, and press into a small bowl lined with cling film. Place a smaller bowl on top and place in the fridge to harden.
Remove the cakes from the tins, and using a serated bread knife held horizontally, evenly cut the tops of the cakes to level.
To make the filling, break up 200g meringue into pieces and set aside. Place cream in a bowl and whip with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Add the sugar to the bowl and whip again till soft peaks form. Stir in the meringue filling then sandwich the filling between the two cakes.
To make the ganache, melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave in short bursts, stirring until completely combined and pour over the top of the cake. Remove the nest from the fridge, and take it out of the bowl mold. Place it on top of the cake over the ganache and fill it with the chocolate eggs.
Serve immediately and enjoy.
*With your left over meringue, why not make a chocolate hazelnut Eton Mess.
**I used a packet of Cadbury speckled eggs for the nest.
Chew Town would like to acknowledge its partnership with Woolworths for this post. You can read Chew Town’s disclosure statement here for more information on brands that Chew Town chooses to work with and why. The recipe above was created, developed and photographed by Chew Town using ingredients from Woolworths.
That cake looks amazing!! 🙂 Hazelnut Pav? That is so awesome!!
I miss my easter break when living in Australia, which has always been marked with buying a Lindt Bunny from Woolies! 🙂 When did they start a Woolworths Gold range?
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Hi Dini, They have had it a little while now and the products really are great! I love a Lindt Bunny, it is definitely my way of marking Easter too!
Looks amazing Amanda! I was just contemplating making a big chocolate cake for our Easter lunch (who am I kidding – I was going to order one from Boucla in Subiaco but they are closed for Easter!).
Do you think this will feed 15 people or should I make 2? Also, does the ganache set hard (I’m presuming it sets harder than the ganache made with cream?)
Thanks 🙂
Haha! I love that you were going to order one! I think for 15 people you might want to increase the cake recipe by 1/2 and use 20cm tins for the layers. The ganache, filling and nest ingredients will still be enough for the larger cakes. The ganache will set hard so my advice is to make the cakes and nest earlier, then make the filling and ganache before your guests arrive and piece it all together – will come together quickly
Two words. Holy Cow!!! This is the best Easter dessert I’ve seen yet. Outstanding!
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Good gosh this looks so great! Terrific cake — and so perfect for Easter. Thanks.
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Such a gorgeous cake – the ‘nest’ is genious!
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Would def want to try it, when do the eggs coffee and yoghurt go into the cake mixture ?
Hi Moi! Thank goodness for your message! I was writing the recipe late last night Sydney time and I must have been tired because I left them out of the method!! I have fixed it now. Thanks 🙂
WOW.. what an easter cake! This is seriously perfection. Pinned!
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simply stunning!
What a funky cake. Love a bit of whimsical magic for Easter cakes. Beautiful photos!
You pull off effortless beauty and prowess in the kitchen so damn easily! This one is such a stunner. When you are coming back westward….we havent brunched in AGES!
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It looks fantastic. Clever girl using the noodles.Hope one is coming our way. xxxxx
HOLY MOLY that is INCREDIBLE!!
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What a beautiful little work of art. I’m sure this cake will have the wee ones ohh-ing and aaaah-ing over it.
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Great stuff! It’s like giant s’mores! Yummaeyyy!
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
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This is one of the most beautiful Easter desserts I have ever seen, hope you had a wonderful holiday season!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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That filling idea is genius! And I love that chocolate nest, must try it!
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This is simply genius. Thank you very much for sharing.
This may be obvious but are the noodles cooked? i just wonder how you got them to be curly in some spots if they were hardened sticks from a box.
Hi Christina, nope, they aren’t cooked. It’s why you break them up into smaller pieces to form the nest. When the warm chocolate hits them though, some of them do curl slightly which helps to make the whole thing look like a nest. Hope that helps!
Hi, how many people does this feed? And how long for prep time? And is it Easy miedum or hard? 🙂
Hi Cate, it’s medium difficulty – mainly just because of the many elements to it. It will serve 14-18 people for a small dessert and will take 45 mins prep with 1hr and 10 cooking time for the cakes.
Is the nest edible?
Hi Amanda,
How far in advance can you make the cakes? Before you ice and decorate? Looks awesome!
Hi Kathie, you can make the cakes a couple of days before and just keep them in the fridge till you are ready to ice and decorate. Infact, it is MUCH easier that way. Cheers A
Hi Amanda, I’d love to make this cake for a party of about 24 people. I was thinking a 22cm cake tin. Would you suggest doubling the recipe? Would the cooking time be altered? Thanks!
This is a brilliant way to make a nest! Thanks for sharing.
Hi, I Iive in America & would love to make the hazelnut meringue or your pavola for this cake recipe.
Hi, I would like to make this cake for Easter. I am looking for the choc hazelnut meringue
I looked on line but neither it is available for purchase. Do you have a recipe for the choc. Hazelnut merinque or the pavola. Can u please advise how I may make it? Thank-you! Cindy
Hi
This cake looks fantastic. Having baked it once, I looked at the comments and they are all about how the cake looks and nothing about how it worked out. I followed the recipe exactly and hesitantly set the timer for 1 hour and ten minutes. Hesitantly because of the quantity and seeing nothing that seemed different about other cakes that bake for around 20 minutes, other than there seemed to be less cake mixture. I was chatting to my daughter, so didn’t check the cake till 30 minutes, when the smell of cake alerted me that it was surely cooked, which it was, but too cooked – dried out and hard. I should have trusted my instincts when i put it in the oven. So i mixed another batch and it was well cooked at 15 minutes.
Please let me know if I have mis-read the recipe, or if the ingredient quantity or baking time is wrong. I love the flavour – its not too sweet, especially with the sweet filling. The Easter basket idea is also great, but in case the recipe is wrong, I’d like to correct it so that it saves, some other baker time, who may also not trust their instincts, and have to bake it twice over.
I haven’t wasted the ingredients, the hard, overcooked cake will be great in a black forest trifle.
I may have done something wrong, so please check it out and let me know. Thank you.
I wish I had read Gwen’s post before attempting this cake! I thought it was a very long time too, especially for two cakes with not a lot of mixture. I baked them twice, but even at 30 mins they were over cooked. I couldn’t get the choc hazelnut pav, our local Woolies said they only get it at Christmas. Perhaps Woolworths should have confirmed whether it was widely available before sponsoring this recipe!
Beautiful presentation! I would love to make this cake. It would be helpful to have American measurements as well, and recipes or explanations for the ingredients that we do not have access to. If not, I may have to improvise. Love the nest.
I have just made these cakes and agree with the comment above. I followed the recipe exactly but they have turned out a little better than flat pancakes and cooked at 17 minutes. Love the whole concept but will try with another cake recipe
Made this cake with high hopes got to taking out the cakes from the oven and they were flat, tasted burnt but werent burnt, overall looked horrible and were all rubberey. The most discusting cake I had ever seen! The good thing about this was the nest thanks for your help making this!
This cake was a great hit. I would only bake the cake for 20-25 min in an 18 inch pan. I baked mine for
25-30 and it was a little dry. Made my own meringue and the filling was amazing . Thanks for the inspiration .
Wow, I loved the recipe! I’ll do it!
Your photos have spectacular quality!