Heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan and line three 20cm/8inch cake tins with baking parchment – leave to the side.
In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and light brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the flour, cocoa powder and eggs and beat again briefly till combined – try not to over beat the mixture!
Divide the mixture between the three tins and smooth it over – bake for 25-30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when poked, and when the cake springs back.
Once baked, leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and then remove and leave to cool fully on a wire rack. If the cake has domed slightly, leave the cake to cool upside down to flatten it slightly.
For the Buttercream
In a stand mixer, beat the room temperature butter with an electric mixer until it is smooth and loose and then beat in the icing sugar 1/3 at a time until its fully combined. Keep beating the buttercream for a few minutes so it starts to get fluffier and lighter.
Add in the honey and beat again until combined.
For the Decoration
Once the cakes are cooled, put the first layer on the serving plate - spread one or tablespoons of the buttercream onto the top of the first layer, and spread over a tablespoon of the Crunchie spread.
Add the second cake on top, and then top again with some of buttercream and Crunchie spread, and then add the final sponge layer.
Spread a thin layer or the buttercream around the edges of the cake to fill in any gaps and form a 'crumb coat'. Leave this to set in the fridge for 10 minutes, or on the side for 30 minutes until the buttercream crusts over.
After its crusted a bit, spread the rest of the buttercream around the edges and top. Naturally you will wipe some off again with making the edges smooth, and this is what you will use to pipe on top later.
I use a large metal scraper to do the smoothing. It's easier to roughly spread some around all the edges of the cake, and then smooth it all.
Once finished, melt the dark chocolate in a heat proof bowl until melted. Add in 1/2 tbsp of oil and beat till smooth. Using disposable piping bags, pipe it round the edge of the cake, edging over slight bits to create the drip.
Leave it to set for about 10 minutes, and then add some more crunchie spread on top. Alternatively, add the Crunchie spread on the top first, and then drip around the edges. I only used the drips around the edge in this cake, and didn't cover the top because of the Crunchie Spread.
Leave the chocolate/spread to set for about 10 minutes or so, and then pipe the rest of the buttercream on top, and add on some crunchie pieces, and chopped up sprinkles of crunchie to finish.
Enjoy! X
Notes
You obviously don’t have to make straight edged buttercream if you don’t want to, but I just like the look of it! You can slather it on, and it’ll still taste damn delicious.
However, if you do want to make it like this, I seriously recommend using a metal scraper for the decoration of the buttercream, and the disposable piping bags.. I wouldn’t be anywhere without them!
All of the decorations are completely optional – but I love this style of cake! To make a smaller version of the cake, use: