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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
I was recently asked to prepare a chocolate cake for a client. They wanted a beautifully opulent and moist chocolate cake with layers of the richest chocolate ganache and a fruit and cream filling.
After experimenting with a few different combinations, I came up with this cake that is simply lovely. Interestingly, fresh pineapple works really well in the filling with the strawberries.
Prep: 20 minutes :: Cook:1 hour 20 minutes :: Serves: 8–14
Preheat the oven to 140°C fan/160°C/gas mark 3. To prepare the cake, put the chocolate pieces and cubed butter into a small Pyrex bowl. Place over a medium, heavy-based saucepan ¾ filled with water. Over a low heat, warm the chocolate and butter until they have just melted, and then remove from the heat.
While the chocolate is cooling, mix the self-raising flour, plain flour, baking powder, light muscovado sugar, caster sugar and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl, using your fingers to get rid of any lumps.
Beat the egg yolks and vanilla extract in a bowl until creamy in texture, and then stir in the buttermilk. Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour, stirring just until everything is well combined and you have a smooth but quite runny consistency.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gradually fold this into the cake mixture.
Dissolve the instant coffee granules in 125ml tepid water, and then add the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda). After three minutes, combine this with the cake mixture.
Pour the cake mixture into the tin and bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes. After that time remove the cake from the oven and test to see if it is cooked by pushing a skewer into the centre.The skewer should come out clean and the top of the cake should feel firm (don’t worry if it cracks a bit). Leave to cool in the tin. It may dip slightly and that’s fine. Then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally in two.
To make the ganache, chop the chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl with the butter. Place the bowl on top of a pot of gently simmering water.
Pour the cream into a pan, add two tablespoons of caster sugar, and heat to just below boiling point. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Add the Tia Maria and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Then remove from the bain-marie and leave to cool.
To assemble the cake, sandwich the layers together with apricot jam, just a little bit of the ganache, whipped cream, and your preferred fruit. Pour the rest of the ganache over the cake, letting it drip decadently down the sides, and smooth the top with a palette knife. Decorate with grated chocolate or a pile of chocolate flakes, and fresh fruit if you like.
This cake will keep, and stay moist and gooey, for three to four days in an airtight container.
Bake Cook Dine will have a variety of talent participating across the month of April, featuring a host of chefs, food bloggers and entrepreneurs, including Clodagh McKenna, Andrew Rudd, Domini Kemp and Kevin Thornton. They’ll be taking to the stage in the Arnotts kitchen department on various dates across the month to demonstrate some of their delicious dishes and juicing tips.
This week, on Saturday April 11 from 1pm-2pm, is Domini Kemp from the Little Green Spoon as part of 'The Baking Experience'.
For more information, including how to win tickets to our Reader Event hosted by Andrew, click here
