I started off with a bang and then disappeared for a while. Can't blame a gal for being under the weather, can you? The long weekend didn't help either :p
While the country was celebrating Independence day, our family was also celebrating a b'day and lil ol me couldn't pass up an opportunity to bake. I wanted to try out something new this time and a bar of dark chocolate sitting pretty in my kitchen beckoned. Chocolate ganache was something I've been lusting after, so I thought why not? Shopped for some cream and I was set. And since I was going for chocolate, I decided to go all out and make the cake all about chocolate, thus the name. Anything in excess is bad, yes. But when it comes to chocolate, it's all goood :) I got this recipe from my go to blog for desserts: Rias collection. I modified it a bit but the base is all her recipe and I must say, it is one of my favourites.
Death by chocolate
For the cake, you will need:
3/4th cup flour
1/4th cup cocoa powder
50 grams milk chocolate (melted)
120 grams cooking butter (I used the slightly salted variety)
1 cup plus 2 heaped tablespoons demerara sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons hot water
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
For the ganache and flakes you will need:
110 grams dark chocolate
100 grams heavy whipping cream (cream with a thick fat content)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Method:
Start by preheating your oven to 180 C. Get your cake batter started by softening your butter. Mix it thoroughly in a bowl till it is smooth. A quick trick is to heat the butter in the microwave till it is soft to jump start your mixing process. Once it is smooth, add in the sugar and mix. Don't worry if the mixture is not all smooth, the demerara sugar adds a nice crunch to the cake. Add in your eggs one at a time, beating with each addition. Add in the vanilla essence and your melted chocolate and mix well.
Sift your flour and cocoa powder and add it to your wet mixture. If you are using unsalted butter, add half a teaspoon of salt to your mixture now. After it is all incorporated, add your baking soda to the hot water, mix it and stir it into the cake batter. If your batter is too thick, add more water till you get a thick flowy consistency, not globs of batter dropping off your spoon.
Lightly grease your baking tin (I used a 20x20 cm square dish) with butter. I often use leftover butter wrappers as they are much easier to scrub the insides of your pan with, rather than using your fingers and getting them sticky. Makes good use of the little butter left on the wrappers too. Pour your batter into the baking tin and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and dry and not gooey. Let the cake cool for a while before you upturn it onto your serving dish.
While the bar is still in one piece, use a knife and graze it down the length of the bar to get thin chocolate flakes. Repeat this process till you have enough flakes to cover the top of the cake. Keep the flakes aside. For the ganache, break the chocolate into smaller pieces and keep them in a glass bowl. Simply heat the cream on a pan till it is boiling and pour it on the chocolate pieces and add in the butter and stir till you get a glossy liquid. Leave it to cool slightly and then pour it over the cooled cake, top it off with chocolate flakes and you are done. The ganache sets into a soft layer of chocolate so if you want to have it slightly fudgy, you can either leave it on the counter top for an hour or refrigerate it before you serve it.
While the country was celebrating Independence day, our family was also celebrating a b'day and lil ol me couldn't pass up an opportunity to bake. I wanted to try out something new this time and a bar of dark chocolate sitting pretty in my kitchen beckoned. Chocolate ganache was something I've been lusting after, so I thought why not? Shopped for some cream and I was set. And since I was going for chocolate, I decided to go all out and make the cake all about chocolate, thus the name. Anything in excess is bad, yes. But when it comes to chocolate, it's all goood :) I got this recipe from my go to blog for desserts: Rias collection. I modified it a bit but the base is all her recipe and I must say, it is one of my favourites.
Death by chocolate
For the cake, you will need:
3/4th cup flour
1/4th cup cocoa powder
50 grams milk chocolate (melted)
120 grams cooking butter (I used the slightly salted variety)
1 cup plus 2 heaped tablespoons demerara sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons hot water
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
For the ganache and flakes you will need:
110 grams dark chocolate
100 grams heavy whipping cream (cream with a thick fat content)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Start by preheating your oven to 180 C. Get your cake batter started by softening your butter. Mix it thoroughly in a bowl till it is smooth. A quick trick is to heat the butter in the microwave till it is soft to jump start your mixing process. Once it is smooth, add in the sugar and mix. Don't worry if the mixture is not all smooth, the demerara sugar adds a nice crunch to the cake. Add in your eggs one at a time, beating with each addition. Add in the vanilla essence and your melted chocolate and mix well.
Sift your flour and cocoa powder and add it to your wet mixture. If you are using unsalted butter, add half a teaspoon of salt to your mixture now. After it is all incorporated, add your baking soda to the hot water, mix it and stir it into the cake batter. If your batter is too thick, add more water till you get a thick flowy consistency, not globs of batter dropping off your spoon.
Lightly grease your baking tin (I used a 20x20 cm square dish) with butter. I often use leftover butter wrappers as they are much easier to scrub the insides of your pan with, rather than using your fingers and getting them sticky. Makes good use of the little butter left on the wrappers too. Pour your batter into the baking tin and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and dry and not gooey. Let the cake cool for a while before you upturn it onto your serving dish.
While the bar is still in one piece, use a knife and graze it down the length of the bar to get thin chocolate flakes. Repeat this process till you have enough flakes to cover the top of the cake. Keep the flakes aside. For the ganache, break the chocolate into smaller pieces and keep them in a glass bowl. Simply heat the cream on a pan till it is boiling and pour it on the chocolate pieces and add in the butter and stir till you get a glossy liquid. Leave it to cool slightly and then pour it over the cooled cake, top it off with chocolate flakes and you are done. The ganache sets into a soft layer of chocolate so if you want to have it slightly fudgy, you can either leave it on the counter top for an hour or refrigerate it before you serve it.
will try this and let u know how it came out :)
ReplyDelete