Sweet & Salty Chocolate Cake - The Hummingbird Bakery

I cannot take any of the credit for this incredible creation. My talented mother followed a (very tricky) recipe from Cake Days - the Hummingbird Bakery's second cookbook - and decorated it to absolute perfection for my sister's birthday. Yes, those are chocolate caramel curls on the top.

After the craze of salted caramel a few years ago, it is a flavour known by all now, some even say it's been overdone, but it will always be a favourite of mine - especially when paired with chocolate and a whole lot of butter.

This is a very special cake and we make it for special celebrations. (I say we, I helped by licking the icing bowl). This is by no means an easy cake to make, (trust me, I tried and failed a few years ago for my brother-in-law's birthday) so if you're a beginner in the kitchen my advice would be to stick with the Victoria sponge for now. But if you're looking for a challenge, and a decadent masterpiece at the end of it, try your hand at this. It looks even better in real life and tastes out of this world.

Have you tried this recipe before? You can find it here and the Cake Days book here. The Hummingbird Bakery recipe books are my favourite for sweet treats, as are their bakeries (check out my visit to their Islington branch here) and I can't recommend their products enough.