Chocolate & orange candle cookie cake with cookie pops

INGREDIENTS
COOKIE CAKE
• 550g plain flour
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 240g unsalted butter
• 100g granulated sugar
• 290g light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 200g white chocolate chips
• 280g chocolate orange bars broken into chips
• Zest of an orange
• ¾ tsp cinnamon

BUTTERCREAM
• 500g unsalted butter
• 750g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp juice from an orange
• 250g white chocolate, melted

GANACHE
• 75g white chocolate
• 25ml double cream

Optional for decoration
– One tealight holder and tealight candle.
– 150g white royal icing and snowflake cutter
– A few edible pearls

METHOD

1. Line a 4 x 12cm spring form cake tins and 1 x 6-inch cake tin and preheat the oven to 170 degrees fan.
2. In a bowl combine the flour, bicarb, salt, and cornflour together to ensure it is all evenly distributed
3. Either using a hand or stand mixer beat together your unsalted butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and beat until combined
4. Add in the flour mix, white chocolate chips and chocolate orange chips and beat until a thick dough is formed.
5. Press amounts of the cookie dough into the 12cm cake tins (about half full) and the remaining into the 6-inch cake tin.
6. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, the top of the cookies should look cooked and have no movement.
7. Remove from oven, leave in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. To make the buttercream, beat the butter until pale and fluffy, then add the icing sugar, white chocolate and orange juice and beat again until soft and creamy.
9. Make the ganache by combining the white chocolate and cream into a microwavable bowl and heat for 30 seconds, stir well until smooth and glossy, if needed pop back in for a further 10 seconds and stir again.

To Assemble

1. Begin with the cookie pops. Break the 6-inch cookie in a large bowl into small pieces. Add sufficient of the buttercream to bring together into a “dough” that can be moulded into balls, do this by adding a heaped tbsp at a time and keep stirring through with a spatula.
2. Make different sized ball cookie pops, pop on to a plate and refrigerate whilst you prepare the rest of the cake.
3. Start with one of the 12cm cookie cakes and place on to a cake board or plate, put a thin layer of buttercream across the top, then put the next cookie cake on and repeat the process. When you get to the top layer scoop out, using a spoon a hole large enough to hold your tealight holder and tealight. (Skip this step if you do not want to use the candle)
4. Using a small amount of buttercream create a thin layer of icing covering the entire cookie cake (the crumb coat), pop in the fridge for 30 mins to harden.
5. Remove from the fridge and cover in a full layer of buttercream. Smooth off using a cake scraper. (Reserve a little buttercream if you are decorating with the icing snowflakes)
6. Using a piping bag with a small hole or a spoon, pipe the ganache around the top of the cake, allowing to drip over the edges, then across the top of the cake, avoiding the hole you have created to hole the candle. Pop in the fridge for 30 mins to set.
7. With the remaining ganache, remove the cookie pops from the fridge and cover fully in ganache and put back in the fridge to set.
8. If opting to make the snowflake decorations, roll out the royal icing and cut approximately 8 snowflakes (depending on the size of your cutter this could be slightly more or less)
9. Once set add the cookie pops around the base of the candle cake and stick on the snowflakes around the candle. Decorate with the edible pearls.
10. Add the tealight holder and candle on to the top of the cake – your cookie cake candle table centrepiece is created!

ENJOY! If you opt for Chocolate & orange candle cookie cake with cookie pops , please do share a picture!