best chocolate cake – My Whisk and I

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

November 17, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

220g best quality dark chocolate (I use De Villiers Chocolate), chopped
125g butter, cubed
5 eggs, separated
190ml sugar
10ml vanilla
2,5ml salt
30ml cocoa powder

Preheat your oven to 170℃ and spray a 22cm loose bottom cake pan with cooking spray. Dust the pan with cocoa powder ensuring the bottom and sides of the pan has an even coating of cocoa powder. Set aside.
Add the chocolate and butter to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir every now and then until the chocolate has melted completely and the mixture has amalgamated.
Take the bowl from the heat and set aside to cool.
Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Beat the whites on medium until it reaches soft peak stage.
Increase the mixers speed and add the sugar a spoonful at a time.
Beat until medium stiff peaks and set aside.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time, to the chocolate mixture and beat well with a spatula after each addition.
Add the vanilla, salt and cocoa powder and mix together.
Now fold in the egg whites by adding a third of the mixture at a time. Mix/fold until no white streaks are visible.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it around evenly.
Bake for 50 minutes. The edges of the cake will pull away from the sides of the pan once it is done.
Cool the cake in the pan before unmoulding it.
Dust with icing sugar and serve.

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Chocolate Cake with Pinot Noir Glaze

June 9, 2021June 6, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This is a glorious, genuine dark chocolate cake with an intense chocolate and red wine glaze. I use a Pinot Noir red wine as the berry notes mix perfectly with the dark chocolate aromas.

220g DeVilliersChocolate Intense or other dark chocolate, chopped
250ml sugar
200g butter, cubed
4 eggs
3,7ml salt
83ml flour

Glaze:
220g DeVilliersChocolate Intense or other dark chocolate, chopped
62ml butter, cubed
2,5ml salt
125ml icing sugar
125ml pinot noir or any other red wine

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease and flour a loose-bottom cake tin of 22cm in diameter.
Add the chocolate, sugar and butter to a heatproof bowl and set it oven a saucepan of simmering water.
Stir the mixture for 3 minutes or until melted and remove from the heat. Keep on stirring until the chocolate is completely smooth.
Scrape the chocolate mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Set aside and allow to cool completely.

Set the mixer onto medium speed and add the eggs, one at a time.
Turn the mixer onto its highest speed.
Keep beating on high speed until the mixture has a very thick, mousse-like consistency.
Turn the mixer down to a low speed and add the salt and flour. Mix until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 60 minutes.
It is important to test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cake’s centre and checking that it comes out clean. If the toothpick/cake tester is sticky, bake the cake for a few minutes longer and test again.
Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Cool the cake in the tin.

For the glaze:
Add the chopped chocolate, butter and salt to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water.
Stir for 3 – 5 minutes until melted.
Remove the bowl from the saucepan.
Sift the icing sugar directly into the melted chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.
Add the red wine to a small saucepan and place on the heat to warm the wine.
Remove the wine from the heat as soon as small bubbles start appearing at the edges of the pan.
Drizzle the wine into the chocolate mixture while whisking continuously until all the wine is incorporated.
Set the glaze apart for about 10 minutes so that it can thicken.
Place the cold cake onto a cooling rack set inside a baking sheet and pour the glaze evenly over the cake.
Allow the glaze to set – about 2 hours.

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Chocolate Cake with Prunes

May 7, 2021May 3, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

If you like chocolate and you like prunes, this flourless cake is what you have been waiting for!

400g prunes
200ml Port or Madeira
30g granulated sugar

For the prunes:
Add the prunes, port and sugar to a small saucepan and place on medium heat.
Stir to dissolve the sugar and then allow the mixture to simmer on a medium to low heat until the liquid is reduced to a syrup.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.

340g dark chocolate, chopped
170g butter, cubed
80g sugar
200g cooled prunes (from the mixture you have made above)
6 eggs, separated
1,2ml salt

Preheat your oven to 170℃.
Grease a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin and dust the bottom and sides with cocoa powder.
Add the chopped chocolate and butter to a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Allow to melt, stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth.
Add half the sugar (40g) to the chocolate mixture and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the bowl from the saucepan.
Now take 200g of the prunes from the port syrup, drain and chop into small pieces and add these to the chocolate mixture.
Allow the mixture to cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate and stir to combine.

Add the egg whites and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Whisk the whites until they form soft peaks.
Now start adding the remaining half of the sugar, a teaspoon at a time, with the machine running.
The whites should hold their shape and be glossy.
Spoon a third of the whites into the chocolate mixture and stir it through to slacken the chocolate.
Fold the rest of the whites into the mixture with a metal spoon, until there are no white streaks left.
Gently pour the batter into the prepared cake tine and bake for 45 minutes.
Cool the cake in the baking tin.
Serve with the remaining prunes in the syrup.

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Chocolate Aperol Cake

April 9, 2021April 8, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

The best write-up for this cake is to have a slice of it…. It is a cake that rises up high and then falls back on itself, thereby creating a dense looking texture that is actually quite airy in one’s mouth. It is a cake that is pure chocolate indulgence, but without the sticky sweetness normally associated with chocolate. It is a cake that is delicately cracked and delightfully imperfect. It is a cake you will never forget once you have tasted it…

340g dark chocolate, chopped
140g butter, cubed
45ml Aperol
15ml vanilla
1.2ml salt
6 eggs, separated
83ml + 83ml + 15ml caster sugar
icing sugar for dusting

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Butter a 25cm loose-bottom cake tin and dust the bottom and sides with caster sugar. Put aside.
Add the chopped chocolate and cubed butter to a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is smooth.
Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the Aperol, vanilla and salt.
Cool the mixture for at least 5 minutes.
Add the 6 egg yolks and 83ml caster sugar to a small mixing bowl and whisk it by hand for about a minute.
Now whisk this mixture into the chocolate mixture.
Allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature.

Add the 6 egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer and add a pinch of salt. Attach the whisk attachment and whip the whites on medium speed, until they reach soft peak stage.
Keep the machine running at medium speed and gradually (a teaspoon at a time) add the 83ml and 15ml caster sugar. Do not become impatient when adding the sugar!! Once all the sugar has been added you will be left with a glossy mixture that holds stiff peaks.
Spoon a third of the egg white mixture into the room temperature chocolate mixture and stir it through to lighten the chocolate mixture.
Add the rest of the egg white mixture and gently fold into the mixture with a spatula until the mixtures are evenly combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 30 minutes.
The top of the cake should feel dry and it should start to crack. A toothpick that is inserted should come out sticky but not wet. If the cake is too wet, let it bake for another 5 minutes and check it again.
Cool the cake in the cake tin. The cake will fall in on itself as it cools – don’t be alarmed!
Remove the ring from the baking tin once the cake has reached room temperature (about an hour).
Dust generously with icing sugar and serve.