Ultimate glazed chocolate cake
It's National Chocolate Week and to celebrate Phil Vickery is in the kitchen whipping up a decadent and delicious chocolate cake - perfect for weekend indulgence. Plus drinks expert Olly Smith has the perfect tipple to go with such a decadent dessert!
Hats created by Andrew Blas, Executive Pastry Chef at Hotel Café Royal in London’s Piccadilly
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Makes: 6-8 portionsPreparation time: 40 minutesCooking time: 30-40 minutes
Ingredients
5 medium egg yolks at room temperature150g castor sugar2 tbsp Amaretto100g plain flour100g ground almonds100g 70% bitter chocolate, chilled well and then roughly grated25g good quality cocoa powder2 tbsp castor sugar5 egg whites from the yolks above1 disc of cooked shortbread or sweet pastry, the same size as the sponge tin
Filling
3 tbsp raspberry jelly or seedless raspberry jam125g bitter chocolate125g milk chocolate3 tbsp liquid glucose300mls whipping cream275mls lightly whipped double cream2 tsp vanilla extract
Glaze
85g good quality cocoa powder85g castor sugar275mls cold water25g unsalted butter2½ leaves of gelatine, soaked in cold water
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 C / gas 4
Grease a 10' x 2' spring form cake tin and line with greaseproof paper and re-grease
Place the egg yolks, castor sugar and Ameretto in a mixing bowl and whisk until very thick and creamy
Sift the ground almonds, cocoa powder and plain flour together. Then add to the grated chocolate.
Whisk the egg whites until break point, this is when they are foamy but not grainy
At this point add the castor sugar and whisk until thick but not too thick or it will be difficult to fold into the egg yolks easily
When ready fold the flour mixture into the egg yolks, then, fold in the meringue carefully
Pour into the prepared baking tin and bake until the cake is fully risen and firm to the touch, about 25-35 minutes
Cool in the tin then turn out
Next make the filling by melting the chocolate over a pan of gently simmering water, take care not to let the chocolate get too hot or the chocolate will turn lumpy. Boil the cream and liquid glucose together, then leave for 10 minutes.
Remove the chocolate from the pan of water, add the slightly cooled cream to the chocolate and whisk well, leave to cool in a cool part of the kitchen, until the mixture thickens and will hold it’s own weight.
Slice the sponge in half with a long, sharp knife, spread the raspberry jam or jelly over the shortbread or pastry disc. Sit the bottom slice sponge on the disc and press slightly.
Then carefully spread ½ the chocolate filling on the bottom layer of the sponge
Add the second layer of sponge and top with the whipped double cream and press down lightly
Top with the final disc of sponge and press down slightly with a wire rack so the top is even
Spread the final half of the chocolate filling around the side of the cake and a thin layer over the top as smooth as possible, then chill well on a wire rack
For the glaze, place all the ingredients into a small saucepan, (apart from the gelatine) and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 seconds stirring all the time, then off the heat add the gelatine and melt, cool until just at setting point.
Remove the sponge from the fridge and place a piece of baking parchment paper underneath
Pour over the glaze and using a pallette knife spread nice and evenly, sides as well
Knock the wire rack to even out the glaze, then leave to cool in a cool place until the glaze is set and shiny
Add the chocolate decorations and serve in very large wedges, with whipped double cream slightly sweetened with sugar and vanilla
To celebrate National Chocolate Week, Andy Blas from the Cafe Royal Hotel sent us these amazing hats made entirely out of chocolate - thank you!