Chocolate and Caramel Cake #GBBOBloggers2015

I cannot believe I have actually baked every week for the Bake Off and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Seeing what everyone has baked every week as been a huge highlight and you are all fabulous bakers and women.  A final big thank you to Mummy Mishaps for organising the #GBBOBloggers2015, this can't have been an easy task. The host for the final week is Claire and her boy Joseph.  For my final bake I decided to go with the good old chocolate cake with a bit of a twist.  

Ingredients

For the Sponges

15oz Stork Butter

8 oz Golden Caster Sugar

6 oz Light Muscavado Sugar

2 oz Dark Muscavado Sugar

12 oz Self Raising Flour

6 oz Ground Almonds

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 pint Natural Yoghurt

6 eggs

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

5 tbsp Cocoa Powder

For the Filling

Can Carnation Caramel

For the Ganache

2 oz Dark Chocolate

2 oz Milk Chocolate

1/2 pint Double Cream

For the Decoration

Milk Chocolate

Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.  I made the cakes in two batches as below.
2. Grease and line 2 x 8 inch round cake tins.
3. To make the first two layers, mix ? butter, golden caster sugar, ? self raising flour, ? ground almonds, 1 tsp baking powder, 3 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla essence together and divide the mixture in to two.  In one of the mixtures add 5 tbsp of cocoa this will then give you two different layers.  Put the mixture in the prepared tins and bake for about 25-30 minutes.
4. When cooked turn out and leave to cool and prepare the tins for the 3^rd and 4^thlayers.
5. To make the second two layers, mix ? butter, light muscavado sugar, dark muscavado sugar, self raising flour, ground almonds, 1 tsp baking powder, 3 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla essence together and divide the mixture in to two.  In one of the mixtures add 1 tbsp of cocoa this will then give you the final two layers.  Put the mixture in the prepared tins and bake for about 25-30 minutes.
6. When cooked turn out and leave to cool.
7. Layer your cake together with the tin of caramel.
8. Prepare the ganache by melting the dark chocolate and milk chocolate together and adding the double cream.  Mix well and leave to cool before covering your cake.
9. I made my chocolate swirls by melting some chocolate and putting in a piping bag, I then snipped off the end and drizzled in swirls on to some baking parchment, I then left this in the fridge to harden before breaking up and adding to the top of my cake.
10. To make the sugar shards I just melted some sugar on a low heat and when it liquefied I tipped it out on to some baking parchment and left it to set.  I then broke it in to pieces to use as decoration.

I used Stork Butter in this recipe and I would like to thank them for providing this.  The Stork website is well worth the visit for great ideas and inspiration on things to make.  Also congratulations to Nadiya for winning the Great British Bake Off this year, it was truly deserved.  So for this year it is farewell, bon appetit and I hope to join in again next year.