To make the marble shards, line a 30 x 20cm baking tray with greaseproof paper. Break 150g of Extra Dark Chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir until melted. In a separate bowl, melt 75g of White Chocolate as above.

Pour the melted Extra Dark Chocolate into the lined baking tray. Spread the chocolate to the edges of the tray with a pallet knife and tap the tray on your surface to smooth.

Spoon blobs of the White Chocolate randomly over the Extra Dark Chocolate and using a cocktail stick or wooden skewer create a marble effect by swirling the two chocolates in a figure of eight pattern repeatedly.

Add sprinkles if you wish.

Place the baking tray with melted chocolate in the fridge and allow to chill for 3 hours or until completely set.

Once set remove from fridge and break the chocolate into shards by hand.

Start by heating the oven to 100ᵒc and line a baking tray with non- stick baking paper.

Put egg whites in a clean mixing bowl and whisk using an electric whisk or mixer until stiff peaks are formed.

With the whisk/mixer running, gradually add the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time. Whisk until thick and glossy and the sugar is fully dissolved (you can test this by rubbing a little of the mixture between your thumb and finger and if you can't feel any sugar grains then it is ready)

Put the meringue mix into a piping bag and cut off the end of the bag in a straight line about 1.5cm wide.

Pipe the kisses onto your lined baking tray by holding the piping bag upright and squeezing gently to create a dome about 2cm in diameter. Then quickly pull the piping bag away upwards to create a nice peak. Leave a small gap between each of the kisses to allow for swelling during baking.

Put the Cocoa Powder into a fine sieve then gently dust the meringue kisses with the Cocoa Powder to give a speckled effect.

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until firm to the touch.

Remove from oven, cool and store in an airtight container.

To make the sponge cake, preheat the oven to 180ᵒc 170˚C (150˚C fan oven, 325˚F, gas 3) 170˚C (150˚C fan oven, 325˚F, gas 3)(160ᵒc fan oven, 350ᵒF, gas 4). Grease and line 4 x 7inch round cake tins. Do not use loose bottomed tins as the cake batter is very liquid.

Put all the ingredients for the cake except the hot water into a bowl and fold carefully until all the ingredients is mixed.

Add the boiling water and with a hand whisk, mix until you have a smooth consistency.

The cake batter will have a very liquid consistency. Pour the mixture into a jug and divide the mixture evenly between the cake tins.

Bake for 30 minutes until cooked and a cocktail stick or skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.

To make the buttercream- Pop the butter in a bowl and beat with a hand help electric whisk, until light and fluffy. Add in the icing sugar and vanilla and beat until combined. Add in the cocoa powder and beat until combined. 

Spread the Chocolate Buttercream on each layer of cake using a pallet knife and stack the cake together. Then spread a thin amount of Chocolate Buttercream on the outside of your cake, starting from the base and working up the cake.

Chill for around 30 minutes in the fridge until set.

Add another layer of Chocolate Buttercream around the whole cake and once covered, use a hot palette knife (you can dip this in a cup of boiling water) to get a smooth finish.

To make the chocolate drip, break 150g of Dark Chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir until melted.

Leave to cool slightly for around 5 minutes.

Pour the melted Dark Chocolate onto the top of your cake and using a palette knife, spread over the top of the cake and push to the edges of the cake so that it starts to drip over the edge.

Whilst the chocolate drips are still setting, insert your shards, by making some incisions in the top of the cake (around 1inch depth) using a small sharp knife to help the shards stay upright.

To finish your decoration add your meringue kisses and chocolate stars and enjoy!