Easter gravity cake recipe

1. To make the vanilla cake, preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Grease a deep 20cm round cake tin and line with nonstick baking paper.
2. Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and use an electric hand whisk to beat together, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs (one at a time), beating until fully combined before adding the next. Add half the flour, then half the yogurt, beating between additions. Repeat, until all of the flour and yogurt have been fully combined.
3. Scrape the batter into the lined tin and bake in the oven for about 1 hr 20 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 mins before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. While the cake is in the oven, make the ganache. Put the butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until fully melted. Remove from the heat and pour in the cream, mixing until silky and smooth in texture. Set aside to cool slightly, until thick and spreadable.
5. To assemble the cake, use a serrated knife to cut the cake into 3 even layers. Put the bottom layer of cake onto a cake stand and spread with half the jam, topping with the second layer of cake. Repeat with the third layer. Using a knife or palette knife, spread the ganache evenly over the top and sides of the cake, until fully coated.
6. To decorate, melt 50g of the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until fully melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and crumble in the shredded wheat, mixing until evenly coated in the chocolate mixture. Form this mixture into a ring-shaped nest on top of the cake, leaving a border of roughly 2.5cm around the outside edge of the cake.
7. Cut a wooden skewer down to 25cm in length. Vertically press the skewer down into the centre of the cake. Push a plastic bendy straw over the top of the skewer and into the cake to secure.
8. Fill the nest on top of the cake with mini eggs, piling them up slightly in the middle around the straw.
9. To decorate, melt the remaining chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Using a very sharp knife, carefully cut a small hole (about the size of the straw) in the side of the Easter egg near the narrower end. Take care to avoid the join in the Easter egg, or it may shatter.
10. Carefully push the straw into the Easter egg via the hole you have cut and mark on the straw where the egg will rest. Add a little chocolate to the back of each of the remaining mini eggs and press onto the straw, holding in place until the chocolate has started to set and the mini eggs feel secure. Add enough mini eggs until you reach the mark where the large Easter egg will rest. When ready to serve, carefully fix the Easter egg on the skewer.

Tips: The cake will keep for up to 3 days but the Easter nest and gravity decoration are best made on the day of serving. For extra help, see our guide for making a gravity-defying cake.

See more Easter cake ideas

As part of a healthy balanced diet, we recommend this recipe for a special occasion or treat.