Marcarpone and Strawberry Mini Chocolate Cakes

I bought the Lakeland's 12 hole mini sandwich tin and I had to try it straight away. This cake recipe is originally from their website, slightly changed.

Mascarpone and Strawberry Mini Chocolate Cakes

For the cakes

175g unsalted butter, softened

125g soft light brown sugar

100g caster sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1 vanilla pod

175g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g cocoa

75ml buttermilk

75ml boiling water

For the filling

300g strawberries 

150ml double cream

200g mascarpone

1vanilla pod

3 tbsp Amaretto liqueur

2-3tbsp icing sugar

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Cream the butter with both of the sugars until pale and light. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time. Add the vanilla seeds.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa into the mixture and mix until almost combined. Add the buttermilk and boiling water and continue to mix until smooth.

Divide the mixture between the Mini Sandwich Pan so that each well is two thirds full. Bake on the middle shelf of your preheated oven for about 20 minutes until well risen and a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of one of the cakes comes out clean. Leave the cakes to rest in the tin for 2 minutes and then ease out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the cream whip the double cream to stiff peaks, add the icing sugar, mascarpone, vanilla seeds and Amaretto liqueur and mix it together. Wash and slice the strawberries.

Cut the cooled cakes in half and spread the bottom layer of each cake with the mascarpone cream, add some strawberries and some cream again.

Sandwich with the top layer then add some more cream on top and a slice of strawberry for decoration.