Last updated on June 7th, 2024 at 07:37 am
Today is Mr P’s birthday and what better way to celebrate it than to surprise him with a new recipe for his birthday cake. I have been thinking of what kind of cake I wanted to make him for a few weeks now. What it came down to was putting his two favorite candy bars Cadbury’s Crunchie and Twirl together with his favorite cake, coffee cake. Mixing these together, I went with a dark chocolate frosting as there was clearly already enough sweetness to this recipe. It turned out delicious. Not the easiest to photograph on a dull and rainy day but at least you will get the idea below. It looked much better in person. I even got a “Wow Crunchie Chocolate Cake” from the kids which made me feel good when I brought it out at dinner tonight.
Birthday Celebrations
I absolutely adore celebrating birthdays. It’s a time to really spoil that person and celebrate their life they have had so far. I set the table and prepared Mr P’s favorite meal and then I piled the presents at the end of the table to taunt him while he ate. For some reason he ate his dinner and dessert faster than normal tonight. It’s his old age starting to kick in…shhh don’t tell him I said that or maybe the fact that he is really just a big kid after all and wanting his presents?
Birthday Cakes
As you get older the best bit about birthday’s is still the cake right? It’s something everyone can enjoy together, and I love to make them for my family to really make them see how special they are to me. If we don’t need a big cake (although how often does that really happen?!) then I still make the effort with some cupcakes – I love these pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and salted caramel drizzle – or treats.
If you prefer a gluten free birthday cake option then you could always try my 4th of July watermelon cake, or the ultimate Rice Krispie tower cake for something completely different. You can find more free-from recipes here.
Love Crunchie? Why not try my Crunchie Chocolate Meringue Nests too!
Chocolate Crunchie Cake
What I love most about this Crunchie Cake recipe, besides how easy it is to make, is the fact that the flavors all really go well together. It’s not too sickly if you stick to one slice and not three at a time. It paired nicely with heavy cream for Mr P and vanilla ice cream for me. I think cake should always be served with ice cream, and next time I think I’ll try it with Jammy Dodger Marshmallow ice cream for that extra indulgent kick. If you want to know how to make this crunchie birthday cake then check down below!
How Do You Decorate A Cake With A Crunchie?
My favourite part about decorating cakes is that there are no rules. You can do whatever you like! I prefer to crush up my Crunchies (and Twirls) and scatter them over the top of the cake, and then loosely stack some larger pieces on the top – just watch out for the kids pinching those bits! If the messy look isn’t for you then you can chop the Crunchie into chunks and place them in a circle around the edge or create a spiral.
Don’t Like Crunchie?
If the idea of a honeycomb cake doesn’t quite make the cut for you, then it’s easy to change it up. You can just have a Twirl cake by leaving he Crunchie off completely – or replace it all with broken up bits of your favourite chocolate bar making a completely unique birthday cake with the things you love.
Cadbury’s Crunchie Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp instant espresso coffee powder
- 1 tbsp hot water
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 5 Cadbury’s crunchie bar crushed
- 2 twirl candy bar
- 3 cups homemade frosting or 2 tubs of store bought dark chocolate frosting
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 F/180°C
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Grease two swallow round cake pans
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Combine coffee and boiling water in a bowl, until coffee is dissolved, set aside
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Beat butter, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy
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Add coffee mixture, and combined
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Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition
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Sift flour over butter mixture, mix well
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Add sour cream and combined
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Fold in crushed Cadbury’s crunchie bar
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Pour mixture into two prepared cake pans
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Smooth surface with spatula
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Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
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Place on a wire rack and cool
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Place one cooled cake on a cake platter and add frosting to the top
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Add second layer place second cake on top of frosting
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Frost entire double layered cake on top and sides with dark chocolate frosting (homemade or bought)
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Crush three cadbury’s crunchie bars leaving one just snapped in three large pieces
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Place two large piece on top of frosting in the center and throw crushed pieces all around it
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Add two twirl candy bars one snapped in half and one crush around crunchie bars
Recipe Notes
Serve with cream or ice cream. There is no art form just throw your crushed candy bars on top. You can substitute with any favorite candy bar or use buttercream frosting instead of dark chocolate.
Do you like my new vamped up coffee cake recipe? Why not pin it for later to your pinterest boards or try my recipe out and tweet me or tag me on instagram to show me what you have come up with. This Crunchie cake recipe is such a fun and easy one the kids will love making with you.
Looking For More Easy Cake Ideas?
Oh wow! This looks amazing!
Happy Birthday Mr P x
Oh thanks lovely we had a great family celebration.
Looks amazing Jenny! If J wasn’t on a massive health kick I’d definitely be making this for him on his birthday. I bet it’s delicious xx
I know it’s hard as I always want to get healthy and then Mr P’s bday shows up hahaha
This looks simply amazing! It’s my birthday in a couple of weeks, I’m going to leave this recipe lying around in the hope someone will get the hint!!
It turned out so amazing. I was impressed with the flavors mixing so well too. The coffee and crunchie were a perfect match.
That cake looks amazing!!! I’m not keen on how crunchies get stuck in your teeth but I would get over it for this cake! IMMENSE! x
Oh yes the taste is so worth it and they are all broken up so not too bad.
Looks amazing…going to have to try this one out sometime! Chocolate heaven 🙂
It was truly chocolate heaven. MR P two favorite candy bars and favorite cake together was a bonus surprise for him. So yummy.
Oh you are so clever Jenny! I’m not a fan of coffee but the topping looks amazing!! x
Oh you could do a vanilla cake with crunchie too. So tasty. We have done it before that way and the flavors still work.
Oh my gosh this looks INCREDIBLE! Wow, wow, wow-please vlog this next time too! Hope hubby had a super birthday. The photography and styling is so on point and I LOVE the new look of your blog too, gorgeous. Sorry for the all the shouting, I’m excited and crunchies are my all time fave choc-not had one for about a decade-shameful! Happy New Year!
Thank you hun. It was so delicious. I love making up new cakes for Mr P’s birthday. It was worth the calories but back to being good now.
Had I known this was the cake you had some leftovers of, I’d have hunted you down! Serious crunchie love over here. Oh I can’t wait for the kitchen to be finished so I can give this a go x
It’s super easy to make try it and let me know what you think. Double the crunchie amount that you put into the cake if you really like it. 🙂 Hunt me down I made way too much would have given you half of it.
Oh my gosh, this looks amazing! Chocolate overload, sounds great to me. 😉 Ray xx #tastytuesdays
Can’t beat a chocolate overload for a birthday! It turned out great. Happy New Year.
Oh my word! I could eat this right now! Your photography is looking fab Jenny. Love the styling too. X
Oh thanks I think it’s gone down hill lately as I have been really slacking on practicing and taking the time to set things up and work on them. I feel like I am rushing everything so my new goals are to simplify life and work slower and enjoy it all more.
Oh my gosh I absolutely have to work out a way of remembering this post to make for my birthday in October! combining my two absolute favourites!
That’s easy darling pin it to pinterest. lol It is so easy to make and it takes absolutely amazing.
I love the look of your vamped up coffee cake. And the decoration… It looks like something I would love to give a wee blast in the microwave and enjoy with a massive scoop of ice cream. Possibly honeycomb ice cream!
Oh yes we had it with ice cream that was the only way and Hubby with his favorite heavy cream. It’s got the crunchie’s inside the coffee cake too it was delicious. Flavors mixed perfectly. Thank you.
Made this for Mum’s birthday (she’s a huge fan of coffee cake and Crunchies) and it went down a treat! I’m not a huge fan of coffee cake and my parents aren’t huge sweet tooths, so it’s rare to find a recipe we all love!
Oh so glad you liked it and tried it out. I love hearing when people try my recipes. It’s so yummy isn’t it? Happy birthday to your mom.