Bar One Cake

If you are looking to make an easy birthday cake for someone who loves the combination of chocolate and caramel then you have found your recipe! This chocolate cake will be the star at any birthday party and it's pretty easy to make!

If you love this Bar One chocolate cake recipe, try out more of my cake recipes! Like this Bounty Coconut Cake or this Strawberry Vanilla Cake next!

Ingredients

You will need the simple ingredients below to make this delicious chocolate and caramel cake. Always use fresh room temperature ingredients when baking. 

Extra-large eggs – The eggs I use weigh 56 grams out of their shell. If you aren’t sure if you have the same eggs, weigh the eggs you have and adjust accordingly.

Sunflower oil – This cake uses oil instead of butter for extra moistness! Use neutral-tasting vegetable oil for this recipe like sunflower or canola oil.

Self-raising flour - If you can't find self-raising flour, you can use cake flour or all-purpose flour mixed with baking powder. Check the recommendations on the packaging of your baking powder to decide how much should be added.

Vanilla extract – choose a quality vanilla extract rather than essence to give this recipe a great vanilla flavor. You can also use vanilla bean paste.

Unsalted butter – use unsalted butter rather than salted butter for this recipe. It is also essential that you use room-temperature butter.

Dark chocolate – the frosting uses a combination of Bar Ones and dark chocolate, the dark chocolate balances out the sweetness of the Bar Ones. I used 70% Lindt chocolate for this recipe. 

Bar One – this is an essential ingredient in this recipe! I used the chocolate bars in the frosting and to decorate the top of the cake. If you can’t find any then Mars Bars will also work. 

Whipping cream - I love adding cream to my frosting for extra fluffiness but if you don't have any open, whole milk will also work.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

To make this delicious chocolate cake, follow the simple steps below. First, make the chocolate cake layers, then the caramel filling, and lastly the chocolate buttercream. 

Instructions for cake 

STEP 1: Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 2 x 22cm (9 inches) round cake tins with oil and parchment paper.  

STEP 2: Cream butter, sugar, and oil. Add the oil, butter, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat at medium to high speed until light and fluffy, for about 4 minutes.

STEP 3: Add the whole eggs. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time. Beat well between each addition and scrape down the sides of the bowl often.

STEP 4: Add dry ingredients. Sift together the salt, cocoa, and self-raising flour then add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.

STEP 5: Add wet ingredients. Add the sour cream, warm coffee, and vanilla extract to a jug and whisk to combine., Slowly pour this into the cake mixture with the mixer's motor running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, make sure it is lump-free.

STEP 6: Bake. Divide the cake batter between the two prepared cake pans and bake in a preheated oven for 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 20 minutes, before turning them onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Instructions for caramel 

STEP 1: Heat sugar. Add the sugar to a medium-sized saucepan set over medium heat.

STEP 2: Allow the sugar to turn amber. Whisk continuously until the sugar has melted. Once melted, stop whisking and allow the sugar to turn a light amber caramel color. Be careful not to burn the sugar.

STEP 3: Add the cream. When amber in color, remove the sugar from the heat and add the cream, whisk until incorporated.

STEP 4: Add the butter. Slowly add the cubed butter to the caramel, one block at a time, whisking as you go. Once the butter has been added, continue to whisk until it has all melted.

STEP 5: Add salt. Add the salt to the caramel and whisk to combine. Pour the caramel into a glass jar and allow the caramel to cool to room temperature.

Instructions for frosting 

STEP 1: Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the dark chocolate, Bar Ones, and butter. The Bar One bars will take time to melt, be careful not to burn them. Help the process along by using a rubber spatula to mix and press the lumps of nougat against the sides of the bowl to break down.

STEP 2: Add to bowl. Set aside to cool slightly then add the melted chocolate mixture to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. 

STEP 3: Add the vanilla and syrup. Add the golden syrup and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture and mix briefly.

STEP 4: Add icing sugar. Sift half of the icing sugar over the frosting mixture and whisk to combine. 

STEP 5: Add sour cream. Add the sour cream and beat until the frosting is well combined and homogeneous. It will look lumpy at first just continue beating. 

STEP 6: Add remaining icing sugar. Sift over the remaining icing sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the frosting is fluffy.

STEP 7: Add cream. With the mixer's motor running at medium-high speed, add the cream one tablespoon at a time and beat until fluffy. Add the frosting to a piping bag.

Instructions for assembly 

STEP 1: Level cake layers. Use a sharp knife to trim the domed tops off the cake layers if necessary. 

STEP 2: Layer with frosting. Secure the first cake layer onto a cake plate with some frosting. Pipe a layer of frosting over the surface of the cake and smooth this out with an off-set spatula. 

STEP 3: Add caramel. Pipe a ring of frosting around the circumference of the bottom cake layer and fill this with the cooled caramel filling. 

STEP 4: Secure the top cake layer. Place the second layer of cake onto the first layer with the cut side facing down. 

STEP 5: Cover the cake with frosting. Pipe the frosting over the tops and sides of the cake and use a knife to create swirls in the frosting. 

STEP 6: Decorate. Slice up the Bar One bars and arrange these on top of the cake. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Hint: To make this recipe stress-free I usually split the work over two days. On the first day, I make the cake layers and the caramel, and on the second day the frosting and decorate. 

Variations

Chocolate cake recipes don’t get better than this one!

But if you feel this recipe needs something extra you can always add sliced Bar One bars on top of caramel before adding the second layer of cake. The frosting can also be made with just Bar Ones if you prefer things on the sweeter side.

​Instead of making the caramel, you could use Nestle caramel treat. 

Equipment

For this delicious cake recipe, you will need x2 22cm cake tins, a wire rack for cooling, a disposable piping bag, and an electric mixer. Either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer.

I always use a stand mixer or electric whisk to make the buttercream as they help ensure a fluffy frosting. I also always use an accurate kitchen scale when baking.

Storage

Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. If it is very hot then store this cake in the fridge.

To freeze this cake, cut the frosted cake into individual slices and wrap each slice of cake in plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the cake in the fridge overnight, then bring the slices to room temperature before consuming.

As far as filling the brief of a chocolate birthday cake recipe, this one nails it! It has all the elements of a great cake. Moist chocolate cake layers, a surprise center, and a frosting so delicious you could eat it by the spoonful. 

Bar Ones are beloved in South Africa and this cake is a celebration of everyone's favorite chocolate. 

If you give this recipe a go, please leave a star review and comment below – I love hearing about your kitchen stories!

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Happy Baking

With Love,

Kitty