Friday, June 18, 2010

A cake for chocolate-lovers



I think this chocolate fudge cake is the most chocolatey chocolate cake I have ever eaten! It's from the beautiful Ottolenghi cookbook. I took it to a friends place for dessert and everyone seemed to enjoy it (some even went back for a second slice) but it did leave most of us feeling slightly ill. Not surprising as it consists of little more than sugar, butter, two types of chocolate and eggs.

I usually adapt recipes to suit what I have in the cupboard but this time I followed the recipe to the letter - using two types of chocolate and going to the trouble of buying light muscovado sugar and unsalted butter. This wasn't really necessary as I'm sure one type of chocolate and regular brown sugar would have worked just fine but I was on a mission to re-create the cake as pictured in the book. (I'm enjoying the leftover muscovado sugar on porridge.)

I baked the cake in two stages as per the recipe as it was meant to result in two layers: one firmer and more cakey, the other moussy. I wasn't able to distinguish any layers in my cake. If making again I would just bake the cake in one go (this option is also offered in the recipe). It would save a couple of hours of time as you have to wait for the first layer to cool before pouring the second layer on top and baking again.

We ate the cake with softly whipped cream with raspberries folded through as in the raspberry cheesecake brownie recipe. Fresh raspberries would be perfect with this cake if available or some of Bec's berry ice cream as the whipped cream just added to the richness.

A delicious, but incredibly rich cake.

Chocolate fudge cake

240g unsalted butter, cubed
265g dark chocolate (52 percent cocoa solids), chopped
95g dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa solids), chopped
290g light muscovado sugar
4 tbsp water
5 large eggs, separated
pinch of salt
cocoa powder for dusting

Place chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl large enough to accommodate the entire mix. Put the brown sugar and water into a saucepan, stir to mix and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Pour the boiling syrup over the butter and chocolate and stir well until melted. Stir in the egg yolks, one at a time. Set aside until it cools to room temperature.

Beat egg whites and salt to a firm but not dry meringue. Fold into chocolate mixture a third at a time until incorporated.

Pour two thirds of the mixture (about 800g) into a greased, lined 20cm springform tin. Leave the rest of the batter until later. Bake at 170 degrees C for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Flatten the top of the cake with a palette knife. Pour the rest of the batter on top and return to the oven for 20-25 minutes. The cake should have moist crumbs when checked with a skewer. Leave to cool completely in tin before removing. Dust with cocoa powder and serve.

The cake will keep, covered, at room temperature for 4 days.


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