Chances are, if you are my friend, I’ve thought of the kind of birthday cake I’m going to make you months ahead of your actual birthday. It’s true. Birthday cakes are a wonderful thing, and I think both making and receiving a homemade one is personal and special. I show love through a combination of butter, sugar, flour and eggs. The fun part is coming up with a cake flavour that I think they’ll like – different for everyone, and never the same cake twice.

My Dad’s birthday was last week and I wanted to put a spin on one of his all-time favourites, the pecan pie. How about hybrid pie/cake with a rich brownie cake on the bottom and a malted pecan pie filling on top? Bake it all together and the result will surely be delicious.

From the outside it looks like a pretty innocuous cake. It’s not until you cut inside that you see how insanely fudgy the chocolate brownie layer is. Woah baby. We only needed very small slices after a big dinner of Korean fried chicken! I loved the difference in texture between the brownie and the caramelly pecan layers. You could taste the malt and the bourbon which gave this cake an intriguing little twist. I think it is absolutely necessary to serve this cake with a big dollop of cream or ice cream. Happy Birthday again to my amazing Daddy! xx

Chocolate Malt Pecan Brownie Cake
Serves 8-10

Brownie Layer

• 85g salted butter
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 130g sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 70g flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pecan Pie Layer

• 90g brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 175g rice malt syrup (or you could use golden syrup)
• 40g butter, extra, melted
• 100g dark chocolate, melted
• 3 eggs
• 40ml single (pouring) cream
• 40ml bourbon (optional)
• 1/2 cup malted milk powder
• 125g pecans
• Whipped cream or ice cream, to serve

Preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F). Line a 22cm round cake tin with non-stick baking paper.

For the brownie layer, place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and beat in the sugar and then the eggs. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then the vanilla extract. Spread evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the layer has set on top.

In the meantime, for the pecan pie layer place the sugar, salt, golden syrup, butter, chocolate, eggs, cream and bourbon in a bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in the malted milk powder. Pour on top of the cooked brownie layer and top evenly with the pecans. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until just set. Allow to cool before serving. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.