TIP! Cake can be assembled up to several hours ahead. Stand at room temperature. (Refrigerate in hot weather.) Decorate with glaze and chocolate bars up to 1 hour ahead.

Ingredients

2 x 540g packaged uniced chocolate mud cake

2 x 35g Peppermint Crisp chocolate bars, coarsely chopped

PEPPERMINT BUTTERCREAM

250g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature

2 ½ cups icing sugar mixture

1 tablespoon milk

1 ½ teaspoons natural peppermint extract

1 teaspoon green food colouring

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

100g dark chocolate, chopped

¼ cup pure cream

Method

To make buttercream, beat butter in the small bowl of an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Beat in sugar, ½ cup at a time, until combined. Beat in milk and extract. Tint green with colouring.

Using a large serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Place one cake layer, cut-side up, on a serving plate. Spread with 1 cup of the buttercream. Top with another cake layer. Repeat layering with remaining buttercream and cake layers, finishing with a cake layer.

To make glaze, combine chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl. Sit bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from pan. Cool at room temperature until slightly thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Pour chocolate glaze over top of cake, allowing it to drip down the side. Decorate with chocolate bars.

Mel Burge