Caramel and Chocolate Layer Cake, Heavenly in every way

It was my grans 85th birthday today so of course I had to make her a super duper cake...and because I'm really rubbish at buying presents! I definitely wanted to make something memorable so I opted for a Caramel and Chocolate layer cake and i wasnt wrong about it being memorable...it was heavenly! It really was absolutely wonderful and went down a storm with the family, with everyone taking home huge chunks with them in doggy bags hahaha :)

Chocolate and caramel layer cake

Vanilla and Chocolate Sponges
225g very soft butter , plus extra for greasing
225g golden caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
85g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
150ml pot natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp cocoa powder

Caramel and Caramel/Chocolate Sponges
225g very soft butter , plus extra for greasing
225g light muscovado sugar
175g self-raising flour
85g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
150ml pot natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cocoa

Caramel sauce
300g Granulated sugar (300g)
50g/ 3.5 tablespoons Water
240g Butter cut into small pieces
200g Double cream , warmed
Place the sugar and water in a saucepan, and cook on low heat until it turns golden brown. Do not overmix, or your sugar will crystallize.
Add the butter little by little while gently stirring with a wooden spoon. (Be careful! The mixture is very hot; it sizzles and might splatter.)
Remove the saucepan from the heat, and add the warmed cream. Mix until well combined.
Pour into jars and let cool. The spread should keep for at least three months in the refrigerator.
Keep in the refrigerator so that your confiture has a beautiful, spreadable consistency.
*Please feel free to use shop bought caramel sauce if you would like

Chocolate Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter ( 1/2 pound), softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment.
For the Vanilla & chocolate sponges, mix all the ingredients, apart from the cocoa, together with an electric whisk. Scrape half the mix into a second bowl and mix in the cocoa. Scrape into the tins and bake for 20-25 mins until a skewer poked in comes out clean.
Repeat step 1 for the Caramel & caramel-choc sponges, again leaving cocoa out of the first mixing, then splitting the mix in half and mixing the cocoa into one batch. Cook as above.
When the sponges are cool, spread a third of the caramel over the Vanilla sponge and top with the Caramel sponge. Spread over another third of the caramel and top with the Caramel-choc sponge, then the final third of caramel and top with the Chocolate sponge (don't panic if you mix up the layers, the cake will still look great when you cut in).
For the buttercream- Cream butter for a few minutes. Sift icing sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl and mix until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Add vanilla extract and milk and beat. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Spread the chocolate buttercream over the whole cake to serve. It will keep in a cool place in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
(There may will be some buttercream left over so cover and place in the fridge for up to a week.)