Chocolate Gateau

I don't know about you, but I love looking at images of plain looking cakes. I am always mesmerised by the awesome looking, golden crumbs on a cake surface.


I made this chocolate gateau a couple of days ago. As usual, I was attracted to the recipe by the beautiful illustration. It's a flourless chocolate cake, ground almonds are used in place of flour. I was very pleased with the outcome...its appearance improved gradually as it was cooling off. I actually liked the bulging rim, I call it the 'hat', that was formed on the top ;)


I would prefer to have the cake plain, but since this is a Me cake...yes, I made it just for myself...I thought I should coat it with a layer of chocolate ganache. I have meant to make it a very simple cake without any decoration...but since I was left with some chocolate ganache, I piped a 'rosette' on it. Yes, I know, I need more practise on my piping ;'p


With my lousy frosting skill, the cake appeared distorted...and the photos I took were terrible. Thanks to the strong light rays from the scorching sun, my photos were mostly over-exposed. It got worst when the glossy chocolate ganache bounced off light all over :(


The cake tasted really really goooood!! It was awfully chocolaty, and the texture was very smooth and velvety. I am sure any chocolate lover will fall in love with it right away. It certainly helped to lift up my spirit a little, as there is really nothing to be happy about, if you have reached the age when our government automatically covers you under the ElderShield :,(



Ingredients:

150g dark chocolate, broken up
75g golden caster sugar (I used light brown sugar)
150g unsalted butter, diced
1 tablespoon runny honey
4 large eggs, separated
200g ground almonds (almond powder)
75ml milk (I used low fat fresh milk)

chocolate ganache:
100g dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

1. Line the base of a 20cm cake pan (with removable base) with parchment paper, grease the sides with butter and set aside.
2. Separate egg yolks from whites when the eggs are still cold. Set aside to bring to room temperature.
3. Place chocolate, sugar, butter, honey in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir frequently till the ingredients melted. Let cool.
4. Transfer to a large bowl. With a manual whisk beat in egg yolks and ground almonds, then stir in the milk. (Just a few stir should get everything incorporated. The mixture will be rather thick at this stage.)
5. In a clean, dry, grease free mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until stiff. With a spatula, Fold In the beaten egg whites in 3 separate additions, into the cake mixture. (Ensure all the whites are fully incorporate into the cake mixture after every addition.)
6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan (the final batter will be less thick). Give the pan several sharp taps on a work top to bring up any air bubbles that may be trapped in the batter.
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 35-40mins, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven, let cool in the pan for about 1omins. Run a thin-bladed knife along the sides of the pan, unmold and cool right-side up.
9. Dust with cocoa powder before serving. Alternatively, if desired, spread with chocolate ganache. To make chocolate ganache: bring the heavy cream to a boil, remove from heat and add in chopped chocolate. Stir till chocolate is melted. Let cool for a few mins and spread over the cake.
   
   Recipe source: Gorgeous Cake by Annie Bell