Dr Oetker Kakaolu Pasta Kremasi Chocolate Cream 156g

Dr. Oetker Pasta Kreması Kakaolu is a cocoa cake cream made from a powder mix, intended above all for birthday cakes but just as useful for everyday sponges. The box promises a result in just three minutes, because nothing is cooked: you whip the powder with chilled milk and a little soft margarine until it forms a thick, smooth, easily spreadable cocoa cream. Both the retailer's listing for this 156 g box and the manufacturer's page name sugar, reduced-fat cocoa powder (16%), glucose syrup, palm fat, modified potato starch and milk protein among the ingredients, so it is not dairy-free.

To prepare it, put 300 ml (1.5 cups) of cold milk and 50 g of soft margarine in a deep bowl, add the powder and whisk with a hand mixer, first on low and then on high speed, for about three minutes in total. Use the cream straight away without letting it stand. The manufacturer says one prepared pack fills, covers and coats the sides of a 26 cm baked sponge, and that a lighter cream can be made with milk only. Besides layering a sponge, it can fill profiteroles or éclairs, top cupcakes from a piping bag or be spread between biscuits.

Store the unopened box in a cool, dry cupboard and keep any decorated cake in the fridge. This listing is the 156 g box; the manufacturer's site currently shows a 149 g pack whose ingredient list and nutrition values differ slightly, so please check the label on your box for the exact ingredients, weight and allergen statements.