Kitchen Diary

The most popular cake by far that I make for orders happens to be what is commonly known as my Death By Chocolate Cake…..I had numerous requests for it after posting the photos of the 30^th birthday party on Friday night. So, taking cognizance of the fact that sharing is caring, I am passing this stunning recipe forward (I hope Lyndatjie  is taking note of this), knowing that it will bring a lot of joy to a lot of people. Like my pancakes I have guarded the recipe closely over the years, but now I give it to you all!

Note: The recipe is flourless so should therefore suit wheat intolerant individuals and will fit into a gluten-free diet

My favourite way of eating this intense chocolate cake is simply with a dusting of icing sugar, a drizzle of raspberry coulis & a dollop of crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream

Do note that that the texture and flavour of this cake is much better the next day so start preparing it a day or two in advance….and remember when serving…..it is wickedly rich and decadent so smaller portions are better!!!

MOO’S INTENSE CHOCOLATE TORTE (DEATH BY CHOCOLATE)

100g Best Quality Dark Chocolate (82%) –

100g Milk Chocolate (best quality)

200g Unsalted Butter –cold
250g Granulated Sugar

6 Extra Large Eggs – separated

2 Tbs ground Almonds – blanch, roast then grind the nuts

Pinch Salt

¼ tsp Cream of Tartar

¼ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Zest of ½ Orange

Juice of ½ Orange

1 Tbs Brandy, Cointreau, Van der Hum or Grand Marnier – optional

·        Preheat the oven to 180⁰C

·        Butter the sides and the base of a 20-23cm round deep cake pan. Line the bottom with baking paper & brush this with butter too

·        Roughly chop the chocolate and cut the butter into small cubes

·        Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave on 20% power for 2 minutes, stirring every minute to combine. Set aside to cool a bit

·        Add the sugar and salt to the egg yolks and beat until warm, pale, thick and trebled in size – about 8 – 10minutes. Don’t shortcut this part

·        Gently stir in the orange zest, juice, alcohol if using & vanilla extract

·        Add the melted chocolate-butter mixture to the eggs and blend in evenly

·        Sprinkle the finely ground almonds over the batter and fold in.

·        Beat the egg whites till foamy, add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form

·        Fold ¼ of the whites into the chocolate batter and incorporate, add another ¼ & fold in then add the rest and fold in gently so as not to lose any of the air beaten in

·        Pour batter into the buttered cake pan and bake for 35 – 45 minutes until the centre of the cake barely trembles when the pan is shaken and the top is set, shiny and a bit crackly-looking (if you inserted a knife or skewer into the cake it would still be sticky in the middle – that is how it should be)

·        Run a hot knife around the cake to loosen from sides of pan, leave in pan to cool completely – the cake will collapse some

·        Cover pan well with cling film and refrigerate overnight

·        Remove from fridge at least an hour before serving at room temperature

·        To remove cake from pan -Warm the bottom of the pan briefly over medium heat, shake to loosen then turn the cake out of the pan onto a board.  Invert onto a plate lined with fresh wax paper so the top of cake is uppermost

·        Dredge entire surface thickly with icing sugar  

Cut into wedges with a dry hot knife & serve with a drizzle of berry coulis & a dollop of crème fraiche or a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream

My favourite way to serve it

·        If you prefer you can ice with chocolate ganache frosting

Chocolate Ganache

200g Dark Chocolate

125ml Fresh Cream

1 Tbs Unsalted Butter

1 Tbs Brandy or Liqueur – very optional but delicious

·        Chop the chocolate very finely & place in a clean dry bowl

·        Heat cream, liqueur & butter over medium heat until little bubbles start forming around the sides of the saucepan – do not allow it to boil!!

·        Quickly pour all the hot cream over the chocolate in the bowl & leave to stand for a few minutes

·        Stir well then leave to stand a few more minutes until all the chocolate has melted, stir until smoothly blended

·        Allow to cool to room temperature

·        Place the chilled cake on a board exactly the same size as the cake. Place on a wire rack over a tray, pour some of the ganache onto the cake. Quickly spread it around with a spatula to cover the cake in a smooth thin layer (this is called a crumb coat) Refrigerate for 10 minutes to allow it to set

·        Pour the rest of the chocolate into the centre of the cake & working quickly, using a long spatula & with wide strokes smooth the rest of the chocolate over the cake. (If you prefer you can just tilt the cake in different directions allowing the ganache to cover the top and run down the sides of the cake) Remove from rack onto a serving plate & allow to set before decorating & serving as desired (the chocolate that has dripped into the tray can be put through a strainer to remove any cake crumbs and refrigerated for further use – making truffles comes to mind ) or you can whip it and pipe rosettes onto your cake)


Photo courtesy of Joy of Baking.com

·        If you want to frost your cake with whipped ganache then place the bowl of melted creamy chocolate over a bowl of water with ice cubes & start whisking – either with a wire whisk if you are strong or use a handheld beater like I do )

·        Once the ganache has thickened and is whipped to a spreading or piping consistency you need to work fairly fast to frost your cake as it hardens up. If you overbeat it will become grainy.


A blank canvas ready to decorate

A slice of chocoholic heaven

Note: To roast nuts – place in a cold dry frying pan and then toast over a medium heat while shaking the pan ( until just starting to brown and the fabulous aromas are released). Cool before chopping finely 

Enjoy………

browniegirl xxx

News Update: Dinx at Lunar Raves has just sent a text message to say that her new grandson made his safe arrival into the world in the early hours of this morning. Mom & babe doing well….CONGRATULATIONS to the Dinx family xxx