Friday, July 20, 2012

Chocolate & Raspberry cake

I thought I should finally open up my Callebaut semi sweet chocolate pistols. I have always loved Lindt eating/couverture chocolates for my desserts but after reading so much about 'good quality' couverture chocolates like Callebaut and Valhorna; I decided to look for one of the two brands. Most Malaysians are ignorant to the fact that chocolate's number one enemy is the fridge. I stumbled upon callebaut chocolate in KL selling for RM 128 for a bag of 2.5kgs.Pretty cheap but it was kept in the fridge/chiller. I had a pretty bad experience with my chocolates kept in the chiller which was accidentally switched to freezer mode. My chocolates seized no matter how many times I started a new batch of chocolates to melt. I learnt my lesson.

I am not a fan of chocolates,call me weird but I am more into sponge/chiffon cakes.Not much of a rich cake/desserts/pastry person although I love making anything sweet which involves the oven.Anyway, I tried a new recipe using chocolates and fruits. I always like my chocolate desserts plain. I wanted to try something new and thought it would be a good idea to start off with raspberries (my favourite berry) and chocolate. The recipe turned out pretty well. Because my cake came out of the oven with a dome, I had to cut the top off. I left the crumbles and crust on plate on the table and continued. Dad walks into the kitchen and pinches on the cake 'scraps', smiles and asks my cousin to have a taste of it. My cousin had a pinch of it and next thing I knew the cake 'scraps' were all gone with the help of her brother as well,of course! They ate the cake 'scraps' with generous amounts of leftover ganache spreading on the bits like having bread and jam!  How cute! I took that as a compliment. :-) ( I was,honestly, gonna throw the cake 'scraps' away,LOL!)


Here's the recipe:

Sponge cake:
145g butter
240g caster sugar
150g good quality dark chocolate pistols, I used Callebaut 53% cocoa
6 large eggs,separated
120g cake flour , sift twice
23g cocoa powder, sift twice

Ganache:
450g good quality dark chocolate pistols
360ml whipping cream, 35% fat
110g butter,softened & cubed

Raspberry jam
Fresh raspberries

  1. Make ganache an hour before baking your cake.
  2. Heat cream in a small saucepan until simmering,make sure not boiling.In another bowl,place chocolates.Pour the hot cream into chocolate and stir gently until chocolate is fully melted.
  3. Stir continuously until mixture is slightly cooled, add half of the butter. And continue to stir. Add the remaining butter,mix until you get a smooth ganache. Cover the ganache with plastic wrap ( plastic wrap should touch surface of ganache) and chill in fridge for 2-3 hours.
  4. Line a 9 inch round pan with baking paper.Preheat oven at 175 C.
  5. Melt butter in microwave until hot and pour into bowl with chocolate. Stir the chocolate mixture until smooth. Whisk 165g of the sugar with egg yolks until pale and fluffy; fold in chocolate mixture. 
  6. Fold in flours until fully combined.
  7. In another bowl, make meringue. Whisk egg whites until soft peaks, gradually add sugar and continue to mix until stiff peaks.
  8. Add 1/3 of the meringue into cake batter and mix until combine then fold in the remaining meringue mixture in two batches until combined.
  9. Pour batter into prepared tin. Drop the baking tin on a hard surface to knock the large bubbles out. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
  10. Allow to cool for 1-2 hours.Peel liners off the cake.Cut the cake into three slices using a serrated knife. Level the cake on top if it's uneven on the surface.
  11. Take ganache out of the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. If ganache is still in a runny like,place it back into the fridge until it is a spreadable consistency.
  12. If too stiff, leave it out a few minutes in a warm area until it is a spreadable consistency.
  13. To assemble, Place one slice of cake on a turntable and spread a thin layer of raspberry jam. Then add a moderate layer of ganache and spread to even out. Place fresh raspberries on top and cover with another layer of cake. Do the same with the next layer. Finally frost the layered cake with ganache; on top and on the sides.
It's okay if the top has cracks because we are going to cut the top off
Making the ganache
                                   

Raspberry jam,raspberries,chocolate ganache to filling and frost the cake
                                   

Raspberries I bought at hefty price in Jason Foodhall and I mean it! RM 27 is no joke. I bought the same ones at Isetan Foodhall in KLCC for only RM 22.

Spread the jam,ganache and topped with raspberries

Frosted cake

Still need to work on my photography skills


No comments: