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A blog post on how to make the best two-tier celebration cake! Vanilla cake, chocolate cake, buttercream, ganache and more!

Two tier celebration cake

So I have always posted blog posts about cakes, cupcakes, and various other delicious treats that are perfection for celebrations… however, I have never post a two-tier cake before! 

I recently hit half a million followers on my instagram account so decided to make the cake to celebrate, but I knew you guys would want the recipe for it (and sure enough, you do!) 

This is just how I happened to do it on the day, so I thought I would write a blog post about it. I will do more recipes in the future, and hopefully a full video too (which I didn’t have time for this time). 

Sponge

This cake has a 8″ chocolate cake bottom tier, with four layers of sponge, filled with a chocolate buttercream frosting. The top tier is a 6″ vanilla cake, filled with vanilla buttercream frosting. 

The cakes were crumb coated with their respective buttercreams, and then I decided to use a ganache for the outside! Obviously, the recipe is designed to cover the two cakes so there is a lot of ingredients… but if you only want to make half you can! 

Tins

For the cakes, I used two of these 8″ tins, and two of these 6″ tins.. and I love them! I just happen to have the 4″ deep versions, but I bake the sponges, let them cool, and then split them each into two! 

Ganache 

For the ganache, I used a mix of dark chocolate and milk chocolate because it’s genuinely what was there. It may make it seem overly complicated, but I ended up loving the end result! It wasn’t too deep a flavour, and wasn’t too sweet! 

I make my ganache by making sure the chocolate is chopped or in chip size, heating the double cream until just before boiling point, and then pouring the cream over and letting it sit. Letting it sit makes the chocolate melt. 

Then, you stir the mixture together until it is smooth! If it isn’t quite smoothly you can heat the mixture gently in 10 second bursts in the microwave until smooth, or in the pan again. 

You need to let the ganache sit until it becomes a thick peanut butter consistency. But also, I find whipping it even better. I let my ganache thicken (you can speed this up in the fridge) and then whip until it is mousse like. It makes it perfect for applying to a cake! 

Tools

I use a small angled spatula to help me apply the ganache (and buttercream) to the cakes, and then use this large metal scraper to help smooth around the edges. It makes it so much easier than you have a metal scraper because it leaves the smooth finish. 

Decoration

I decorated the cake in an edible rose gold (actually peach coloured) paint, which I use a brush to flick over the cake in a random paint splatter effect. I love the effect it creates so much, I recently did the same with my Ferrero Rocher drip cake! I did a chocolate drip around both of the cakes, and used leftover buttercream to pipe onto the cake randomly. 

Honestly, this cake was just about using what I had in the cupboard for decoration and flavours – but I loved it! It’s a huge cake that would happily serve probably 40+ people at a party, but I gave out chunks to my family and friends!

Dowels 

Now, because it is a two-tier celebration cake, you MUST DOWEL THE CAKE. I cannot stress this enough! If you don’t you risk the cake sliding into the other sponge and generally going completely wrong. 

There are many types of dowels out there for cake, but I use these wilton ones and found them so easy! They come with little caps to ‘spread the weight’ I guess, and the top sponge sits onto it (on a cake board) and then it doesn’t sink! Obviously, if you have ones you prefer then go with them! 

Top tips

I would say a big part about making this sort of cake is letting the layers chill and set well enough each time. It takes patience, but it is worth it. I chill my cakes for 30 minutes. I fill and crumb coat my cakes, and chill for 30 minutes. I cover in ganache and chill again for 30 minutes. I decorate with ganache drips, and chill again for 30 minutes etc! 

This allows the buttercream to set, the ganache to set, and makes the cake much easier to work with! All things when baking cakes are each to their own – but this is just how I did this particular cake! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments! 

Top tip as well, when you are very close to finishing the ganache – I heat the scraper under the hot tap, dry it off so it’s not wet, and do one final scrape around the cake. It creates the perfect smooth finish! x

Two-Tier Celebration Cake!

A blog post on how to make the best two-tier celebration cake! Vanilla cake, chocolate cake, buttercream, ganache and more!
Print Pin Rate
Category: Cake
Type: Drip Cake
Keyword: Chocolate
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 1 hour
Decorating Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 5 hours
Servings: 45 Slices
Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

8" Chocolate Cake

  • 500 g unsalted butter
  • 500 g light brown Sugar
  • 400 g self raising Flour
  • 100 g cocoa powder
  • 10 medium eggs

6" Vanilla Cake

  • 300 g unsalted butter
  • 300 g caster sugar
  • 300 g self raising flour
  • 6 medium eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Buttercream

  • 300 g unsalted butter (not stork) (room temp)
  • 500 g icing sugar
  • 75 g cocoa powder

Vanilla Buttercream

  • 200 g unsalted butter (not stork) (room temp)
  • 400 g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Ganache

  • 400 g dark chocolate (chopped)
  • 300 g milk chocolate
  • 600 ml double cream

Drip Ganache

  • 125 g dark chocolate
  • 125 g milk chocolate
  • 250 ml double cream

Decoration

  • Rose Gold/Peach Paint
  • Leftover Buttercream
  • Sprinkles

Instructions

For the 8" Chocolate Cake!

  • Preheat your oven to 170C/150C Fan, and line two 8"/20cm deep cake tins with parchment paper.
  • Add the butter and sugar to a bowl, and beat till light and fluffy.
  • Add in the flour, cocoa powder and eggs and beat again until a lovely smooth cake mixture is formed.
  • Split evenly between the two tins and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean!)
  • Once baked, leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and then leave to cool fully on a wire rack.

For the 6" Vanilla Cake!

  • Preheat your oven to 170C/150C Fan, and line two 6"/15cm deep cake tins with parchment paper.
  • Add the butter and sugar to a bowl, and beat till light and fluffy.
  • Add in the flour, eggs and vanilla extract and beat again until a lovely smooth cake mixture is formed.
  • Split evenly between the two tins and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean!)
  • Once baked, leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and then leave to cool fully on a wire rack.

Chocolate Buttercream

  • Beat the butter on its own for a while in your mixer until its smooth and supple.
  • Add in your icing sugar and cocoa powder a little at a time and beat fully until its light and fluffy!
  • (If the mixture is really stiff, add in 1-2tbsp of boiling water and beat fully to smooth out)

Vanilla Buttercream

  • Beat the butter on its own for a while in your mixer until its smooth and supple.
  • Add in your icing sugar and vanilla extract a little at a time and beat fully until its light and fluffy!
  • (If the mixture is really stiff, add in 1-2tbsp of boiling water and beat fully to smooth out)

For the Ganache

  • Add the the dark chocolate and milk chocolate to a large bowl.
  • Add the cream to a pan and heat till just before boiling point. Pour over chocolate and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Once sat, mix until smooth (Add back to the pan if its not quite melted).
  • Leave the ganache in a bowl and stir every few minutes until it forms a peanut butter like consistency - you can do this in the fridge as well, just make sure to stir it so it doesn't set too quickly!
  • You can also whip the ganache with an electric whisk to make it lighter and more mousse like.

Assembly.

  • Level the cakes off if necessary. Split the two chocolate cakes so you have four layers in total.
  • Add your first cake to a cake board (I use a large 10" cake board) and secure with a small amount of buttercream.
  • Spread some chocolate buttercream onto the first layer, add the second sponge. Repeat until you reach the top layer of cake.
  • Spread some chocolate buttercream around the sides to fill in the gaps and create a crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes.
  • Repeat this process with the vanilla cake in the same way. (I use a 6" thin cake board for this one)
  • Once refrigerated and the ganache is ready, using an angled spatula, slather over the chocolate ganache and then smooth around using a large metal scraper. Do this for both cakes!
  • Once the ganache is on, refrigerate the cakes for another 30 minutes.
  • Insert some doweling supports for your cake into the larger 8" cake. I used four dowels. You want them to be towards the middle of the cake, for the 6" cake to sit on top of.
  • Using a small amount of buttercream, or ganache, spread that on top of where the dowels are, and stick the smaller cake on top of the larger cake.
  • If using, pour the edible paint into a small bowl and using a paint brush, flick the paint over the cake (make sure you protect the surfaces around the cake).

Drip Ganache

  • Add the the dark chocolate and milk chocolate to a large bowl. Add the cream to a pan and heat till just before boiling point. Pour over chocolate and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Once sat, mix until smooth (Add back to the pan if its not quite melted).
  • Using a small piping pag, drip the ganache down the sides of the two cakes, and fill in the tops of both cakes. If you can, let the cake set in the fridge for 30 minutes again.
  • Pipe some swirls of the leftover buttercream on top using a medium 2D closed star piping tip and decorate with the sprinkles!

Notes

ENJOY!

Find my other Recipes on my Recipes Page!

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J x

© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.

140 Comments

  1. Kirsty on March 28, 2024 at 12:14 pm

    Hi, I’m looking at making this but a 10″ and an 8″. For the 10″ conversions, would I still swap out a 100g of flour for cocoa powder or would it be more?

    Thank you

  2. Gemma on January 27, 2024 at 11:59 am

    Hi,
    I’m wanting to make the 8inch cake but want to make it vanilla instead of chocolate.
    Would I use the same ingredients but instead doing cocoa powder put the same amount of flour instead. & add vanilla?

    I’m wanting to make it in a couple week time for my daughters birthday.
    Also if I was to make the sponge in advance would I score in fridge or freezer.

    If freezer do I need to defrost before decorating. Also how long would the cake last once made.

    How would I store once cake Also.

    Thank you

  3. Shannen on January 21, 2024 at 5:33 pm

    Hi Jane,
    I’d love to make this cake for my daughters 1st birthday in July (I’m planning a trial run beforehand!!). I’d like to make both cakes vanilla – if I miss out the cocoa powder, how much additional flour should I substitute it for? Also, what would my ingredient measurements be for the buttercream to do both cakes, please?
    Thank you! X

    • Gail on February 19, 2024 at 8:53 pm

      Jane
      Can you please confirm the two tier cake egg amount is correct in your recipe. Many thanks. Gail



    • Jane's Patisserie on February 20, 2024 at 11:28 am

      I’m not sure what you mean sorry? The recipe is correct as written..



  4. Jessica on October 4, 2023 at 7:24 pm

    I’m making a cake my partners daughter birthday using this recipe but just vanilla. But I’ve just bought all salted butter instead of unsalted can I still use it please help I need to bake it on Friday? What a nightmare I’m stressing now.

    • Gail on February 20, 2024 at 7:38 pm

      Hi Jane, 10 eggs for the 8″ and 6 eggs for the 6″ happy if it makes good cakes but just wanted you to confirm. Thank you.
      Gail



    • Jane's Patisserie on February 21, 2024 at 8:02 pm

      Yes, all recipes are written as they should be! x



  5. alison on August 17, 2023 at 6:10 pm

    Hi jane I’m looking to use this recipe for my 20th wedding anniversary cake on 23rd august, but I would like to cover in vanilla buttercream instead of ganache, how much buttercream would I need to fill and do crumb coat and cover as well, will be doing a fault line so final coat would be above and below fault line if you get me, many thanks and love your new book.a

  6. Lara on May 28, 2023 at 7:03 pm

    Hi there. If I want to bake all four layers of the 8inch cake separately instead of cutting deep cakes in half, what would you advise for the baking times for the shallower sponges!

    Lara xx

  7. Victoria on May 22, 2023 at 3:44 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Jane,
    I’ve made this before and it was amazing!
    I need to make it dairy free… for the cake I can substitute butter for stork but what would you substitute for the buttercream? – only doing buttercream on the outside for this one.
    Thanks for your help and your incredible recipes!

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 26, 2023 at 10:35 am

      Hiya! I would find the hardest block of vegan butter you can find – I use the flora plant block at the moment! It may be a smidge softer, but that can’t be helped due to the dairy free nature. Don’t add any extra liquid! x



  8. Helen on April 29, 2023 at 4:06 pm

    Hi
    I want to make this cake for my sons 1st birthday. I want to make them both vanilla. What would the ingredients be for the 8inch vanilla please. Also when assembling do younleave the 6inch on the board or take it off.

    Thank you

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 3, 2023 at 8:18 am

      Replace the cocoa powder with more flour and add vanilla! And when you stack cakes you always have a board so that the cake will sit on the dowels properly – without the cake will sink. x



  9. Bianca on October 4, 2022 at 9:45 pm

    Hi Jane,

    I’m thinking to do this cake but use all buttercream instead of ganache, do you have any idea on how much extra butter/icing sugar that I would need to use?

    Thank you

  10. Lucy on September 19, 2022 at 8:51 am

    Hi.

    Could I use stork instead of unsalted butter?

    • Jane's Patisserie on September 22, 2022 at 1:53 pm

      Hiya! Yes absolutely you can. Enjoy! x



  11. Olivia on August 7, 2022 at 2:38 pm

    Hi Jane, I am due to be making my first two tier cake this weekend, would jumbo straws work well as dowels to help support the top tier? Thank you!

    • Jane's Patisserie on August 12, 2022 at 12:24 pm

      Hiya! Yes thy should be fine, just make sure the cake on top has the correct board! Hope this helps! x



  12. Ellz on July 7, 2022 at 8:23 pm

    Hi Jane
    If I wanted to cover this cake in all chocolate buttercream and not ganache (so crumb coat and another layer of butter cream) any ideas on the quantities of buttercream needed to do this? ☺️

  13. Danni on June 8, 2022 at 9:54 am

    Jane!!!
    You really need to do another 2 tier colourful cake my daughters 7th birthday is coming up and I so need a two tier cake but I feel like a deer infront of headlights and have no clue where to start please please do another bright 2 tier cake!

  14. Ros on May 25, 2022 at 8:05 am

    Can you please let me know what quantity would I need to make a 10inch?

  15. Hayley on April 11, 2022 at 7:45 pm

    Hello,
    I’m planning on making this next week for my daughters first birthday. But I would like both the 6 inch and 8 inch cake to be vanilla. Just checking it would then be 500g unsalted butter, 500g caster sugar, 500g self raising flour, 10 medium eggs? How much vanilla extract would I need to add? Thank you

  16. Wilandi on March 11, 2022 at 3:17 pm

    Hi! Im so excited abput this cake. I made the sponges, i made both tiers chocolate. But now the party has moved to next week. I havent iced the cake yet. Ive only done the sponges. Can i freeze the cake for a week, thaw it and then ice and decorate? If so, how should i do this? Should it be wrapped in cling film? Put in a plastic container?
    How long would it take to thaw?

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 13, 2022 at 12:52 pm

      Yes for sure! Although I often decorate from frozen and the cake can thaw as you decorate!! Each sponge needs to be double wrapped in clingfilm, and then wrapped in foil! x



  17. Katie on February 7, 2022 at 8:48 am

    Hi if I was to adjust the 8” cake to a 10” so 700g. How long and what temp would I bake it for. I tried yesterday on 150 for about an hr and 10 but it came out with patches of raw cake.
    Thanks

  18. Caroline on October 2, 2021 at 9:20 pm

    When doing the 6 inch cake If I use 4x6inch tins how long do you think they will take to bake. Thank you.
    I love all your recipes. I bake them and give them away for people to enjoy.

  19. Abby Maguire on September 30, 2021 at 9:27 pm

    Hi Jane,

    Bit of a different question. Have you got any advice on transporting a cake like this?

    Thanks,
    Abby

  20. Mina on September 1, 2021 at 9:39 pm

    5 stars
    Made this as a vanilla cake for my brothers wedding and Honestly sooooo many compliments!! Turned out beautiful! Sorry if this has been asked before but how much ingredients would I need for a 10 inch cake please??? . Thank you in advance xx

  21. Nic on August 30, 2021 at 11:03 pm

    Hi Jane, my 6” cake tins are sadly not as deep as yours so I’m wondering if I could just use the same quantities of your cake mix for the 6” tier but split it into 4 tins instead? Any idea how long I’d need to bake them for. Thank you x

    • Rebekah on November 13, 2022 at 4:56 pm

      Hi Jane,
      I’m hoping to make this for my wedding cake next week! But I’d like to make a 10″ chocolate cake and 8″ vanilla cake. Could you help me out with the quantities of ingredients please? Thank you so much xx



  22. Elkie on August 12, 2021 at 10:11 am

    Would I be able to substitute butter for oil at all? I think it’s usually 3/4 of the quantity.

    Thanks Jane!

  23. Abi on July 28, 2021 at 2:13 pm

    Hello, this may be a really stupid question but when you place the smaller cake onto the larger one, does it go directly on or is there a board inbetween? xx

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 28, 2021 at 2:21 pm

      I use a thin cake board, which is what rests on the dowels!



  24. Caryl Griffiths on July 24, 2021 at 10:44 am

    1)How much time ahead of eating can I bake the sponges? Need it finished in 3 days time and wondering whether you’d go ahead to make the sponges today so that I have tomorrow to ice and assemble the two tier cake and the day before eating to decorate/finalise the cake?

    2)Can I just use chocolate to do the drips? Or would you highly suggest me using a ganache/double cream? just scared as we need to travel around 3 hours with the cake in this hot weather!

    3) If I wanted to make the 8 inch cake a coffee flavoured one, what must I add if I don’t have coffee flavouring? instant coffee?

    4) any tips on how best to travel with the cake in this hot weather? Fridge night before and then leave flat on boot surface and hope for the best or is there a specific technique you’d suggest?

    thank you so much, I absolutely adore your recipes.

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 24, 2021 at 4:02 pm

      I would freeze the baked sponges overnight, and then store the decorated cake in the fridge until portioned/travel. You can do just chocolate, just sometimes isn’t as shiny and harder to cut. You can add 2tbsp instant coffee dissolved in as little water as possible, and cooled before adding! And make your car as cold as possible before traveling x



  25. Natalie on July 22, 2021 at 4:19 pm

    Hello, absolutely love your recipes! I want to make the 8″ chocolate cake on its own and only have 3 layers, how much should I cut down the ingredients by?
    Thanks! 😊 x

  26. Rachael MacIsaac on July 8, 2021 at 9:50 am

    5 stars
    I made this and it worked perfectly. The recipient was delighted too. I used white choc ganache on the top in a 3:1 ratio.
    I do have a question, how would you make it a caramel sponge. I’m not sure what to remove to add caramel into the mixture.

    Thanks x

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 19, 2021 at 4:28 pm

      For a caramel sponge I would just do a brown sugar sponge and maybe add caramel with the buttercream, but not add any caramel to the sponge itself x



  27. Sam on July 3, 2021 at 2:57 am

    Could I use the ganache on the outside as youve done and the buttercream from your big fudge cake would that work? also I want to make both cakes chocolate so would I just add coco powder to the vanilla cake? if so how much would you recommend please? not good at the calculating part 🙂 thanks in advance xx

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 3, 2021 at 12:21 pm

      Yes you can use the fudge cake icing in the middle of the cakes – and substitute 65g of flour for cocoa powder maybe?! x



    • Sam on July 22, 2021 at 11:28 am

      Only just read this thank you



  28. Verashe Shah on June 30, 2021 at 6:52 pm

    Hi there, I just wanted to ask how do you work out the ratios for the ganache when you are mixing milk and dark chocolate?
    Thank you

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 3, 2021 at 12:23 pm

      I just experimented until I found what worked!



  29. shaz on June 15, 2021 at 2:37 pm

    Hi Jane,

    Would it be possible to make 2 chocolate and 2 vanilla layers using this recipe for a 6 inch cake? will the bake time be less? I made your vanilla cake recipe for my husband’s birthday, it was delightful!!!

    Thanks!
    Shaz

    • Jane's Patisserie on June 17, 2021 at 1:23 pm

      Hey, yes this would work and no the bake time wouldn’t be less. I am so glad you loved it!x



  30. Anisha on June 15, 2021 at 1:55 pm

    Hi Jane. The PME tins I have are 3’ deep. Would they be ok to use for this recipe?

    • Jane's Patisserie on June 17, 2021 at 1:19 pm

      Hiya, yes they should work!x



  31. Sammy on May 24, 2021 at 2:31 pm

    Hey Jane,

    I was watching your kitchen renovation vlog on YouTube and I have just purchased the exact same oven as you (the Bosch series 4).

    I was wondering what setting do you bake your cakes at? There is two fan options: one with a solid circle around the fan called 3D hot air, and one with a spaced out circle around the fan called gentle hot air. Which one of these do you use or do you use a different setting?

    I have just finished baking the 6inch cake from this two tier recipe but it took me 1 whole hour with them both on the middle shelf together. I am waiting for them to cool down and trim them but is this too long to have them in the oven?

  32. Alice on May 22, 2021 at 10:35 pm

    5 stars
    I am hoping to make this cake for my 18th Birthday but the edible Food paint is out of stock in most places – have you got any substitutes?

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 24, 2021 at 12:42 pm

      Hiya, have a browse online for it!xx



  33. Margaret on May 22, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Jane.
    Do you have a video of assembling the cake ? In particular the inserting of the dowels and stacking?
    Thank you Jane

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 24, 2021 at 12:31 pm

      Hey, no I do not unfortunately!xx



    • Charlotte Oakley on September 30, 2021 at 11:20 am

      Hi Jane, what quantities/many eggs /oven time and temp for a 10 inch ?! Thanks a lot



  34. Sammy on May 21, 2021 at 10:13 am

    5 stars
    Hey Jane,

    I was watching your kitchen renovation vlog on YouTube and I have just purchased the exact same oven as you (the Bosch series 4).

    I was wondering what setting do you bake your cakes at? There is two fan options: one with a solid circle around the fan called 3D hot air, and one with a spaced out circle around the fan called gentle hot air. Which one of these do you use or do you use a different setting?

    I have just finished baking the 6inch cake from this two tier recipe but it took me 1 whole hour with them both on the middle shelf together. I am waiting for them to cool down and trim them but is this too long to have them in the oven?

  35. Sara on May 20, 2021 at 11:27 am

    Hi Jane is there a certain branded butter you use to bake and for making buttercream? I heard high fat ratio butter is better for baking but don’t know which ones.

    Thanks x

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 20, 2021 at 1:22 pm

      You should always use block butter wrapped in foil – I tend to use supermarket own!! x



  36. Sara on May 14, 2021 at 6:17 pm

    Hi Jane I recently made your 2 tier celebration cake and it was a hit with all my family. The buttercream was so smooth and of course very tasty. I want to make buttercream that crusts but this never did just wanted to know what butter is used to get the crust effect?

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 15, 2021 at 11:28 am

      Hey! Buttercream takes time to crust but this cake is covered in ganache xx



  37. Lola on May 9, 2021 at 12:00 pm

    Hi Jane
    I would like to bake this cake for my birthday and want the 8inch to be vanilla sponge. I was thinking about using the 8inch chocolate buttercream ingredients but would I substitute the cocoa powder for icing sugar?

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 15, 2021 at 9:46 am

      Hello, yes this sounds right!x



  38. Emma on May 6, 2021 at 8:37 am

    Hi Jane

    I’ve been tasked with making a birthday cake for a friend, could I make the sponges and buttercream as coffee? Would the recipe be easy to adapt? Hope you can help.

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 6, 2021 at 8:29 pm

      You could add coffee flavouring really easily, or add dissolved coffee like in my coffee cake recipe! xx



  39. Mary Fraher on May 4, 2021 at 12:22 am

    5 stars
    Hi Jane a question to do with oven temps. I bought an in oven thermometer and it’s reading that the temp is 100 degrees lower than what the dial says so I set it to 200 degrees for example but thermometer says 190. I’m just wondering if I should turn the oven up so that the temp on the thermometer matches what the recipe says? I made your 28th birthday cake the other day and it said leave cakes in for 50 mins or so but I had to leave them in for an hour and a half before they were done.

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 8, 2021 at 2:51 pm

      Hiya, this sounds very bad for baking! I would recommend doing a test cake like a victoria sponge using the thermometer to check the temperatures xx



  40. Kiran on April 14, 2021 at 1:03 am

    Hi Jane im a new baker and in the process of trying out different recipes atm. I have tried ur vanilla cupcakes recipe and they came out perfect..i want to give tiered cake a try and this looks perfect to me but i want to make it a bit smaller so 6’’ vanilla which is perfect but i want to make a smaller 4’’ top tier chocolate cake so i suppose if i half the ingredients for the chocolate cake that should work ok but I only have 3’’ deep pans will the be ok?

    • Jane's Patisserie on April 17, 2021 at 2:47 pm

      Hey! Unfortunately changing the tin sizes is based on volume not the inch size. 4 inches is roughly a 1/3 of an 8 inch recipe xx



    • Kiran on April 18, 2021 at 12:00 pm

      Thank u so much for your reply x



  41. Beth on April 13, 2021 at 9:44 pm

    Hi Jane, I was wondering how I would conduct this recipe from 6” and 8” to a 7” and 9” tier cake?
    Any help would be much appreciated, Thank you so much!!

  42. Amina on April 6, 2021 at 10:00 pm

    Hi Jane, hope you are well. I am going to be making this as my birthday cake, and I have a few questions. If my birthday is on the 14th next week, how many days in advance should I do the cakes and buttercream?, as I don’t really want to be making a mess on my birthday clothes! I am going to be doing a funfetti cake, and for the chocolate cake, shall I just replace the coco powder with the equal amount of flour? And for the 6’’ thin cake board, does there need to be a hole at the base of it, so that the dowels can fit through?

    Thank you!

    • Amina on April 6, 2021 at 10:03 pm

      I also forgot to ask; I only have two 8 inch tins, does this cake make 4 layers when done? Or just two thick layers? And can I just bake the two layers in batches so I have 4 then: ie, bake 2 first, then the next 2?



    • Jane's Patisserie on April 9, 2021 at 12:31 pm

      Hey again! It makes four layers as per the recipe. Yeah you could do that x



    • Jane's Patisserie on April 9, 2021 at 12:31 pm

      Hey! I usually make my sponges the day before I decorate and yes replace the coco powder for the equal amount of flour. Dowels sit onto a cake board not through the cake board, I don’t use a centre column dowel. Hope that all helps!xx



  43. S on March 27, 2021 at 4:03 pm

    My tins are about 2.5 inches deep will they be ok?

    • Jane's Patisserie on April 3, 2021 at 10:23 pm

      I would say that’s a little risky – they may over flow slightly!



  44. Charlie on March 10, 2021 at 8:18 am

    Would you store this in the fridge?
    Thanks

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 10, 2021 at 8:39 am

      Un-cut, yes! After being portioned though no I wouldn’t x



  45. Jean McEntee on March 7, 2021 at 2:45 pm

    Hi Jane,
    I am planning to make this cake for my Mam’s 60th.. she loves salted caramel/Crunchie kind of flavours, I’m aware you have salted caramel and Crunchie drip cake recipes on your blog. I was wondering, if I was to make one layer of the two tier cake either salted caramel or Crunchie, and the other layer either the vanilla or chocolate that’s already in this recipe, would that make sense?? I hope I’m being clear in my question x

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 15, 2021 at 12:15 pm

      Hello! Yes I’m sure that will be great :)x



  46. Lawley on February 26, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    Hey Jane,
    About to make this absolute cracker of a cake… could I use golden caster sugar in the vanilla cake? Would it give it somewhat of a better taste? Was going to also drizzle some salted caramel sauce in between the vanilla layers… so thought the golden sugar could be nice? If so would it just be the same amount?

    Thank you
    Lawley x

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 28, 2021 at 11:38 am

      Yes you can use a straight swap to golden caster sugar! Its a fairly similar flavour but still nice! xx



  47. Ellie McLeod on February 22, 2021 at 1:54 pm

    Hi if I wanted to have the 6” tier as chocolate what would my ingredient be?

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 26, 2021 at 3:37 pm

      Substitute 50g of flour for cocoa powder!



  48. Julie Horden on February 19, 2021 at 11:50 am

    5 stars
    Hello jane

    Your recipes are amazing ⭐⭐

    If I was to use the 6inc cake tin and put cocoa in the mixture how much will I have to use please?

    Thank you

    Julie xx

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 20, 2021 at 12:01 pm

      Substitute 50g of flour for cocoa powder! x



  49. Andrea on February 4, 2021 at 2:24 pm

    Hi Jane,

    If I wanted to make the 6″ tier into 3 layers instead of 4 (and bake in 3 separate tins) could I use the same amount of ingredients or would I have to decrease them slightly?

    Thanks! x

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 4, 2021 at 6:37 pm

      Yes you could, the timings will just change!! xx



  50. Natasha on January 23, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    Hi can this chocolate recipe be used with buttercream icing?

  51. Emily on January 22, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    Hi Jane I’m looking to make just the 4 layer 8inch cake but wanted to make it vanilla rather than chocolate can I just leave the cocoa powder out or would I need to add more flour? Thanks 😊

  52. Ashton Jarratt on January 21, 2021 at 9:56 am

    Hi Jane!

    I’ve made this cake before and absolutely loved it! The same as all your recipes! So thank you.

    Quick question- how do you tend to store this cake once finished? Last time I made it, it was cut up straight away so it didn’t matter. But this time I need to make it the day before giving it to someone!

    Many thanks,

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 21, 2021 at 12:05 pm

      If it’s uncut it can go in the fridge over night – just needs to be out the fridge for a while before serving x



  53. Kimberley Slater on January 18, 2021 at 10:39 pm

    Hi Jane,
    I’m making my own wedding cake and using your victoria sponge celebration recipe. I’m doing 2 tiers a 8″ and 10″. I’ll be using the wilton rods and caps you recommended, but just wanted some advice on cake boards for both the tiers?

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 19, 2021 at 6:46 pm

      What advice are you after? x



    • Kimberley Slater on January 19, 2021 at 10:25 pm

      Where do you buy your cake boards from, and which are the best to get for the bottom and top tier?



    • Jane's Patisserie on January 20, 2021 at 12:42 pm

      You can buy cake boards from SO many places so just give it a google – So for this cake I use a 6″ thin card for the 6″, and then a 10″ thick cake board for the 8″ to sit on.



    • Kimberley Slater on January 20, 2021 at 10:45 pm

      Thank you



  54. Kathryn on January 18, 2021 at 5:42 pm

    Hi, I LOVE your chocolate fudge cake recipe and was wondering if it would work using that as the bottom tier? If so would I just make it the same and just use the 2 layers or would I have to adjust the mixture to make it 3 layers? Or could I just split the current mixture between 3 tins and adjust the cooking time? Sorry for the million questions 🤣.

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 18, 2021 at 8:10 pm

      That sponge is VERY soft so it would be hard to decorate in the same way to a degree – and I’m a little confused about the recipe. That sponge is only 2 layers, whereas this is four x



  55. Lucy Chapman on January 17, 2021 at 11:13 pm

    Hi Jane

    What height would you say the cake is altogether?

    Thanks,
    Lucy

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 18, 2021 at 11:06 am

      Honestly this is a complete guess but I would imagine saying 14″ roughly?!



  56. Mairead on January 16, 2021 at 12:24 pm

    4 stars
    Hi I was looking to do a 10” tire what would the measurements be for this?

  57. Mairead on January 16, 2021 at 12:23 pm

    4 stars
    Hi I was looking to do a 10” tire then 8” what would the measurements be for this?

  58. Grace Taggart on January 14, 2021 at 5:20 pm

    Wow this is incredible! Could I ask, if I wanted to make just the 8inch cake, how much ganache would you use to cover that? I’m assuming this ganache recipe is to cover both cakes? Thanks so much!

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 16, 2021 at 5:49 pm

      I would use maybe 3/5 of it for just the 8″ layer! x



  59. Sienna on December 15, 2020 at 3:06 pm

    Hi Jane this recipe looks amazing but if I just wanted to make the 6 inch cake but have 2 6x2inch pans could I make 4 layers? Also how much cocoa powder would add to make it a Chocolate cake? Thank you

    • Jane's Patisserie on December 15, 2020 at 4:18 pm

      I would substitute 60g of the flour for cocoa powder, and maybe as you have shallower tins it would be better to bake half of the cake at a time if that makes sense, so you bake all four layers separately x



  60. Alys on December 2, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe and super clear instructions. I love baking but struggle with the recipes sometimes and the brown sugar makes such a difference. I’m making this for a friends wedding next week and have just had a practice and it was brilliant. Thanks again, love all your recipes! You are a star xx

  61. Alison on November 24, 2020 at 10:01 pm

    Thank you for such a fast reply! And just another one – did you wait for the chocolate and cream to completely cool before whipping? Or did you whip the cream then add the cooled chocolate x

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 25, 2020 at 11:19 am

      No you mix the ganache together so it’s combined, then you need to leave it to reach a peanut butter consistency!



  62. Alison on November 23, 2020 at 10:19 pm

    Hello! For the cake pictured did you whip the ganache for the sides of the cake?

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 24, 2020 at 10:23 am

      Only slightly to get it to an even texture x



  63. Natalie on November 21, 2020 at 12:17 pm

    Hi Jane,

    Would this cake withstand being covered in Fondant icing? I have my son’s birthday cake to make and he has requested chocolate, which strays away from my trusty vanilla cake recipe. I’ll probably only do 1 tier, as it’ll likely end up being a lockdown party for 4!

    Roughly how tall does your chocolate tier end up?

    Thanks in advance!

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 21, 2020 at 12:30 pm

      Yes! So because of the ganache outside, it’s a wonderful base for fondant icing – just make sure the ganache is set well and it would work perfectly. The chocolate cake is probably about 6″ tall roughly?! x



  64. Hollie on November 17, 2020 at 12:42 pm

    How would I change the ingredients to suit a 7″ cake tin for the vanilla

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 18, 2020 at 11:23 am

      I am unsure on timings, but if you want it similar maybe 400g (so it’s in the middle of the 6 and 8)



  65. Gemma on October 21, 2020 at 9:45 am

    Hi,
    This cake looks amazing! How would I adapt the ganache and buttercream ingredients to make this just an 8” single layer cake please?

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 21, 2020 at 11:35 am

      Hey! Do you mean single layer, or single tier? x



    • Gemma Brown on October 22, 2020 at 12:05 pm

      Sorry! I meant single tier! X



    • Jane's Patisserie on October 22, 2020 at 7:33 pm

      Ahh okay so it’s worth looking at my 28th birthday cake post as that is what you are after! x



  66. Zoe on October 14, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    Hi. This looks amaze! Can’t wait to try baking it. Have you got any tips please on how I’d make a smaller version of this cake? X

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 14, 2020 at 8:28 pm

      It depends on what size tins you’d want? As this already has a 6″ layer, you could just do one layer?



  67. Laura McEvoy on October 14, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    Hi Jane!
    I’ve made so many of your recipes over the years.
    I love baking cakes for my families birthdays, especially my little girls.
    I always find however that my sponges never come out light & fluffy. I can’t work out if I’m over baking, or under baking them.
    Any chance you’d be able to do a video on top tips of how to tell if the sponges are baked??

    Kindest regards
    Laura McEvoy

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 14, 2020 at 8:28 pm

      Hey! Ahh amazing. I have a few YouTube videos on how I make some cakes already so it may be worth looking at those? xx



  68. Shirley on October 14, 2020 at 3:42 pm

    Looks amazing. Have you stopped doing utube videos 🤔

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 14, 2020 at 4:46 pm

      Unfortunately I don’t have any time for YouTube at the minute as videos take so long, but hopefully in the future.



  69. Laura on October 14, 2020 at 1:34 pm

    5 stars
    Love your chocolate cake recipes best ive used.

  70. Kat on October 14, 2020 at 12:37 pm

    The cake looks gorgeous! Quick question – how do you get the ganache to look so dark after whipping? I find whipping it makes it even lighter than milk chocolate – almost like a beige colour

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 14, 2020 at 4:45 pm

      I wouldn’t say comparing the photos is the best comparison as it often looks different in real life if that makes sense, but it could potentially depend on the chocolate you use? Some I guess are lighter in colour?! xx



  71. Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes on October 14, 2020 at 10:50 am

    5 stars
    Congrats on your insta follows, that is great!! Thanks for sharing this cake it looks amazing 🙂

    Nic

  72. Zia on October 14, 2020 at 10:37 am

    Hiya! How do you store the cake after making it? In the fridge?

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 14, 2020 at 10:49 am

      It can be stored in the fridge, if it’s not been cut into. Once you’ve portioned it, the fridge would dry it out too much in my opinion. But a cool place also works, especially in the colder months!



  73. Paula Roberts on October 14, 2020 at 10:35 am

    5 stars
    This looks absolutely amazing! So elegant! Congratulations on your Instagram account! I love your recipes and use them all the time! Thank you for all the tips as well- they are very much appreciated!

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 14, 2020 at 10:48 am

      Ahh thank you so much!! I’ve been wanting to post a two-tier cake for a while, so it seemed the perfect timing!! x



  74. Sue on October 14, 2020 at 9:49 am

    Can you put some more of your new cakes on YouTube please

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 14, 2020 at 9:54 am

      Unfortunately I don’t have any time for YouTube at the minute as videos take so long, but hopefully in the future.



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