chocolate cake – Page 2 – My Whisk and I

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.

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.

Tag: chocolate cake

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