This is our christmas cake this year and you know what it made me think that I'm not sure that I like chocolate cake, is that even possible? I keep searching for the perfect one and not finding it, not that there is anything wrong with this one, its delicious, quite almondy and it won the gourmet farmer third place in the Bream Creek Show, its just not the chocolate cake I dream of, I will continue my search, not for me but for you.
...the cake
125g butter, softened
150g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
100g dark chocolate, melted
100g sour cream
2 tbsp cocoa
100g self-raising flour125g almond meal
...the ganache
100mls cream
250g chocolate, broken into small bits
150g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
100g dark chocolate, melted
100g sour cream
2 tbsp cocoa
100g self-raising flour125g almond meal
...the ganache
100mls cream
250g chocolate, broken into small bits
Preheat the oven to 170 and grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin or similar (small is good its not a huge cake).
Cream the butter and sugar with the vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at time. If the mix looks a bit curdled, don’t worry, stir in the melted chocolate, then the sour cream until just combined. Fold in the sifted cocoa and flour and then the almond meal. Scrape into the cake tin and smooth the top a bit. Bake for about 40 - 50 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Coo in the tin for ten minutes then on a rack, once completely cool ice with ganache.
To make the ganache heat the cream in a small saucepan and when it comes to the boil, whisk in the chocolate, returning to the heat if necessary to melt it. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Allow to set just enough to be able to spread over the cake (this took over an hour on a hot melbourne night).
I like the idea of the almonds in the cake, it must make it quite moist along with the sour cream. And you can't go wrong with a ganache topping!
ReplyDeleteHallelujah - I don't actually like chocolate cake that much either, but it's a very difficult thing to admit. People look at you like you're weird or, even worse, on a diet. Having said that, I DO love chocolate cakes with lots of chocolate and ground almonds, so perhaps I'll give this one a try. Hope you had a great Christmas (I'm in awe of you baking anything so chocolatey so soon!)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I am not a big chocolate girl myself, but Mr PK makes up for both of us, so keep searching for us, we appreciate it:)
ReplyDeletehmm interesting question really - do i like chocolate cake!! simply yes, but really i always bake or order something quite different to the humble choccie cake - i anticipate your quest to find the ultimate cake!!
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