It's so shiny! This Gin and Rose Chocolate Mirror Cake looks as good as it tastes!

If the sound of luscious gin and rose buttercream, folded between cushions of delicately soft chocolate sponge, gets you as excited as us, then this is the recipe for you! This devilishly delicious chocolate cake not only tastes amazing but it looks incredible too. That glistening mirror glaze and those sparkling crystallised rose petals are enough to make anybody drool!

This recipe can be a little fiddly at first, but once mastered it is a definite showstopper for when your friends visit - if you can bear to share it, that is!

For the cake:

Step 1: Set the oven to 180C, 160C fan, Gas 4.

Step 2: Grease and line two seven-inch deep cake tins.

Step 3: Cream the butter and sugar for two minutes, then add the eggs, black treacle and gin.

Step 4: Sift the drinking chocolate, cocoa, flour and baking powder together, then add to the butter mixture and combine until you get a stiff drop. The batter will be firm.

Step 5: Divide the batter between two tins, level the tops and bake for 35-45 minutes. When the cakes are done, a skewer inserted into the middle will come out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin until you can just handle it, then remove the warm cake and double wrap in cling film to retain moisture.

Step 6: When the cakes are cool, level* each one off and split each cake into two layers.

*To level the cake is to remove the dome that may rise on top, in the middle. Simply slice that off so that the surface of the cake is flat.

For the buttercream:

Step 1: Whisk the butter for seven to ten minutes until pale and fluffy.

Step 2: Add half the icing sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated, then whisk for five minutes before adding the remaining ingredients and whisk for a further seven minutes.

Step 3: Spread a thick layer of the rose buttercream on one side of three of the slices of cake. Then sandwich them all together so you end up with four layers of cake and three of buttercream.

Step 4: Now apply a thin crumb coat of buttercream to the top and sides of the cake, smooth with a palette knife and chill the cake in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

For the chocolate glaze:

Step 1: Add the cream, sugar, cocoa powder and water to a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until the sugar is fully dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for two minutes. Then turn off the heat and leave to cool for ten minutes.

Step 2: Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for five minutes. Squeeze any excess water from the leaves and stir into the glaze until they fully dissolve.

Step 3: Use a sugar thermometer to check the temperature of the glaze and cool to a maximum of 38C before using. When the glaze is ready, take the cake out of the fridge, place it on a wire cooling rack over a large plate. Then you just need to pour the chocolate mirror glaze over the cake, allowing it to run down the sides. You can reuse any glaze that has dripped onto the plate.

Step 4: Pop the cake back in the fridge to firm up, then decorate the top with crystallised rose petals and pomegranate seeds if you have any, for that added flare.

Cocktail Paring Tip: This cake is rich, sweet and full of dark allure, so we recommend paring it with a cocktail that is light and floral, like this Rose Petal Martini, or one that has more bitter notes, like this Pomegranate Negroni.