Saturday, August 8, 2009

The Most Diet-Unfriendly Cake You'll Find Here

...and it's all thanks to Donna Hay.

Over the years I've found Donna Hay recipes to be a tad on the sweet side for me. This then got me into the habit of messing around with the measurements and what not - which probably explains why half my baking adventures fail miserably. However, this Chocolate Truffle Cake really leaves me with nothing to complain about - except perhaps the fat content.

I am going to repeat this once again. If you are health-conscious, turn away now. Otherwise, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

This is also a time consuming cake, but it definitely is worthy of every minute spent labouring away in the kitchen.First you need to sift the flour and cocoa flour. Not once. Not Twice. But THREE times.
Do it. Or you'll be kicking yourself.
Next grab 4 eggs ad 1/3 cup of caster sugar.

I'm a strong believer of Free Range Eggs. The thought of my own garden-hogging chickens flap up when I get tempted by the price of caged eggs.

Won't somebody think of the chickens!?!
Beat the egg and sugar until light and fluffy. You'll notice your mixture growing in size. It's kinda cool like that. Next, fold in the cocoa and flour mix. I always use either a rice paddle or a metal spoon when I fold - I think the metal spoon idea came from Huey's.

Pour the mixture into a springform tin (one of the most awesomest bakeware ever). Smack the tin down on the bench gently to pop any large air bubbles which may have been trapped inside.
Pop it into an 180°C oven for 25 minutes. You may want to make the truffle filling at this point.

See, I told you it would be time-consuming and lots of hard work.
For the filling, grab about 400g of dark coverture chocolate and 2 cups of single cream. The original recipe asks for more, but I prefer this ratio. Melt it while stirring over a double boiler.

I find the Nestle Cooking Chocolate works fine, but if you're a chocolate connoisseur then by all means use high quality stuff to your liking.
It was some time here that the timer on my oven went off and I had to go rescue the cake. I know this because the ordering of photos on my camera tells me so.
I'm also going to use this opportunity to show you oven mits (?) that SK got me from the U.S. It took me ages to work out what the shape was meant to be, so I'm just gonna it leave it there for everyone to guess.
Back to the chocolate mix. Remember to keep stirring or it may just catch on the bottom.
After it is melted, set it aside and let it cool.
Next, separate six eggs. You'll need the yolks. The whites you can use for meringues or macarons. You can even make them and then stick them as decoration on the cake, or do something trippy and make it all Adriano Zumbo-esque.
Put the egg yolks with 1/3 cup of caster sugar over a double boiler. At this point I'm going to say I hope you have a power point near your stove, or you're going to need an extension cord.
Next, beat the egg and sugar over the double boiler. Make sure you scrap the bottom regularly with a spatula to make sure that the egg doesnt cook on the side of the bowl.
When the mixture is thick, put it aside and let it cool slightly for about 2 minutes.
Next, fold in the chocolate cream mixture from before. Make swift, gentle folds so that the mixture stays light.
And then place it into refridgeration for 30 minutes.
While the truffle filling is cooling, proceed to slice the cake into two. Don't be like me, cut them evenly, please.
Place the bottom half of the cake back into the springform tin. At this point I will stress that you remember to tighten your tin. Nobody likes runny truffle mixture all over the benchtop.
Pour half of the truffle mixture over the bottom layer. The mixture, at this point, should be at a consistency so that it will naturally spread itself over the layer without the need for a spatula, but it should not be so runny that the sponge cake will start absorbing it like syrup.
Put the top layer of cake on top of the truffle mixture...
...then pour the rest of the truffle mixture on top.

Easy right?
Then pop the entire thing into the fridge and leave it there for at least 5 hours. I experimented once with 5 hours, and once overnight. The overnight one was definitely more cutting friendly and was better texture-wise.

Once the cake is set, detach the springform tin carefully. It should come off quite easily without needing to run your knife around the edge.
Then just cut it up and serve!

(from Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2)

2 comments:

  1. MICKEY MOUSE's PANTS!! hahah you're a loser wenxi, that was sooo easy! I knew straight away. you haven't been watching enough disney!

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  2. hey wow that looks so yummy! And your food blog overall looks good so keep up the good work! Btw i found it via that chinese blog =)

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