14 August, 2015
Intensement Chocolat with Raspberries
Intensement Chocolat with Raspberries
Whoever knows me, are aware of my serious addiction to chocolate!!!! Yes.. I admit, although I try limit this dark devilish pressure to a minimum, I can never say ‘NO’ to it ^_^
I have to say, this amazing cake does take time to make (around 4-5hrs to be exact), it consists of various stages involving of making different textures and consistencies which fills the inside of this amazing creation… but really, it is worth every minute of wait and effort you put in to it, as the end result when you cut the slice and see all the layers, following by absolute bliss in the mouth when you try it and gives you this amazing warm feeling of satisfaction… I can’t even describe how amazing this cake tastes… You will just have to trust me, sacrifice few hours and make it yourself to experience it…
And thank me of course for sharing the recipe hehee.. so there you go-
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INGREDIENTS
Chocolate Macaron
85g Ground almonds (Almond flour)
80g icing sugar
5g unsweetened cocoa powder
20g chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
2 egg whites + 1 tbs whipped egg white
70g caster sugar
Dark Chocolate Sponge Cake
20g all-purpose flour
15g potato starch
10g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
50g caster sugar
Cocoa Syrup
25g granulated sugar
1tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
5tbsp water
Dark Chocolate Ganache
125g chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
125ml heavy (double) cream
30g butter
Chocolate Mousse
4 eggs
40g caster sugar
160g chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
40g butter
1 pinch of fine salt (I use fine sea salt)
Dark Chocolate Glaze
100g chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
80ml heavy (double) cream
40g whole milk
20g granulated sugar
20g butter
Dark and white chocolate for decoration. + Some raspberries (optional)
Essential Equipment:
Round mould 8in/20cm diameter, same size cardboard cake board.
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METHOD
Firstly let’s start with preparing chocolate macaron. Preheat oven to 150’C.
Combine the ground almond flour and the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor. Pulse a few times until the mixture resembles a fine powder (do not over mix or you will end up with paste! Nooo!). Sift through a sieve to remove any lumps. Melt the chocolate in the pan over gently simmering water and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy. Once they are frothy, add a third of the caster sugar. Whip until the sugar has dissolved. Add another third of the sugar. Whip for 1 minute. Add the last third of the sugar and whip for one minute. Egg whites should be glossy and hold soft peaks. Using a spatula, delicately fold the cocoa, almond flour and confectioners’ sugar into the whipped egg whites. In a separate bowl, beat the remaining table spoon of egg white until just frothy. Then add it to the final mixture, folding gently to slightly loosen the macaron batter. Transfer the mixture in the piping bag fitted with a plain tip.
Line 2 baking trays with a parchment paper, draw the circles same size as your cake board (20cm diameter) On ONE OF THE CIRCLES pipe the circle motion macaron batter and pop in the oven for approximately 25minutes. Allow to cool.
Secondly, we can move on to prepare Chocolate sponge for the cake. Increase oven temperature to 170’C.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and potato starch. In the separate bowls separate egg yolk from whites. Gently liquefy the yolks with a fork.
In the large clean bowl whip the egg whites to a foam. After they nice and frothy, add the sugar an continue whisking until nice and stiff peaks (that’s when I am happy to have a stand mixer ^_^) .
Immediately add egg yolks and gently fold them in the egg whites with rubber spatula.
Sprinkle the dry ingredients and combine very gently.
Transfer the batter in the piping bag fitted with plain nozzle. Pipe the batter in the second 20cm diameter circle and bake for 15min. Let it cool
Thirdly, prepare your dark Chocolate ganache. Finely chop the chocolate, place in the bowl. In the small saucepan bring the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Leave to stand for a minute or two and then with a whisk mix it well until smooth consistency. Add room temperature butter by small pieces, and stir until velvety smooth texture reached.
Assembly: Cut the Macaron and Cake circles to fit in the mould. Place the cake board the size of the mould on the bottom of it. (I tend to line the mould with foil to make unmoulding easier once the cake is assembled) Put the macaron disk in the bottom of the mould, pour the ganache over it and place in the fridge to firm up.
Whilst the first stage of the cake is chilling in the fridge, make your cocoa syrup to soak your sponge with. Add all the ingredients in the small saucepan, bring it to the boil whisking it. Set aside allow to cool.
Now, it is time to get your gorgeously smooth Chocolate Mousse ready ^_^ Chop the chocolate and place it in the heat proof bowl. Cut the butter and add to the chocolate. Place the pan over the pan of gently simmering water and melt it together stirring occasionally. When all is melted, remove from the heat, and allow to cool to barely lukewarm (around 19-20’c)
Separate egg yolks from egg whites in separate bowls. Slightly beat egg yolks to liquefy. Place the egg whites in dry clean bowl with a pinch of salt and whip to a foam. Once they frothy, add the sugar and whisk till nice firm peaks form.
Add the yolks, stir them in very carefully and slightly combine.
Add the cooled melted chocolate and incorporate well with rubber spatula making nice round gentle moves going from side to inside the bowl.
You should end up with beautiful rich velvety smooth mousse.
Take the cake out of the fridge, assemble the Raspberries in a circles on top of the firm ganache.
Pipe the 2/3 of the mouse on top and in between of raspberries. Brush one side of the sponge with the cocoa syrup, place the sponge circle (cut to fit snuggly) in the mould and brush (soak) the top of it with left syrup, pipe the rest of the mousse on top, even it out nicely with a palette knife and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up and set.
After two hours, take out of the fridge, remove the mould and aluminium foil. Cover the cake in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30minutes.
Lastly, prepare Chocolate Glaze to cover the cake by chopping the chocolate and placing it in the large bowl. In the saucepan, bring the cream, milk and sugar to the boil. Then pour it over the chopped chocolate. Add chopped butter and stir until all is melted and smooth.
Place the wire rack over the clean baking sheet. When the glaze is just slightly warm, take the cake out of the freezer, remove plastic wrap and place on the wire rack. Straight away pour the glaze over it and smooth it all around with palette knife.
I used left over raspberries by placing some granola mixed with honey on the bottom of the mini bowls, stack berries on top and some melted chocolate piped on top for decoration ^_^ made fun snack for kids, which tastes great and looks fun
Enjoy 🙂
