For Suzie's Birthday, I decided to go all out and make a cake this year instead of buying one. I figure if I'm going to make a career out of this, the least I can do is make my own cakes. Pulling out all strings, this cake turned into a two day event. The cake was baked and cooled on Wednesday night, and finished on Thursday afternoon. It had the consistency of a flourless cake and weighed a ton! I took the following recipe, and modified it by cutting the cake into 3 layers and frosting all 3 with a Dark Chocolate frosting. I let the cake cool for 2 hours in the 'fridge while I made the Ganache and allowed it to cool to lukewarm temperature. After coating the cake in liquid chocolate, I returned it to the 'fridge to cool for another couple of hours prior to serving. Recipe follows:
Cake
14 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
16 tablespoons (8 ounces) butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup (6 ounces) small-diced peppermint pattie candies
Ganache Topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
12 ounces chocolate, finely chopped (6oz bitter, 6oz semisweet)
2 to 3 T water (if too thick or too oily)
Royal Icing (Glace Royale)
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1/3 of 1 egg white
3 to 4 drops lemon juice
To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter a 9 1/2 to 10-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, and flour the pan, tapping out the excess flour.
Melt the chocolate with the butter and cream in the top of a double boiler. Reserve.
In the bowl of a mixer with a whip, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until very thick and light (about 5 minutes). Add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and mix until just blended. Add the flour, salt, and vanilla and mix until combined, scraping the bowl once or twice. Transfer the batter to a large mixing bowl and stir in the Peppermint Pattie pieces. The mixture will be quite thick.
In a clean mixing bowl, with a clean whip, beat the egg whites to medium soft peaks. Lighten the batter by stirring in about one-third of the egg whites. Fold in the remaining whites and the place batter in the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 45 to 50 minutes. The top of the cake will feel set and very fine hairline cracks will just start to form around the edges. Remove and cool in the pan on a rack.
To make the ganache topping: Heat the cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan to just under a boil. Add the chopped chocolate and, over very low heat, constantly stirring, cook the mixture until it is completely smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to just above luke warm.
Place the cooled cake upside down on a cardboard cake circle or a service plate. Remove the sides and bottom of the springform pan. Remove the parchment liner. Using an offset spatula, decoratively spread the ganache over what is now the top of the cake, drawing the ganache all the way out to the edges of the cake. Using the offset spatula, level the edges to give the cake a finished look. Decorate with Glace Royale & Andes mints cut into triangles.
Happy Birthday!
Cake
14 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
16 tablespoons (8 ounces) butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup (6 ounces) small-diced peppermint pattie candies
Ganache Topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
12 ounces chocolate, finely chopped (6oz bitter, 6oz semisweet)
2 to 3 T water (if too thick or too oily)
Royal Icing (Glace Royale)
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1/3 of 1 egg white
3 to 4 drops lemon juice
To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter a 9 1/2 to 10-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, and flour the pan, tapping out the excess flour.
Melt the chocolate with the butter and cream in the top of a double boiler. Reserve.
In the bowl of a mixer with a whip, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until very thick and light (about 5 minutes). Add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and mix until just blended. Add the flour, salt, and vanilla and mix until combined, scraping the bowl once or twice. Transfer the batter to a large mixing bowl and stir in the Peppermint Pattie pieces. The mixture will be quite thick.
In a clean mixing bowl, with a clean whip, beat the egg whites to medium soft peaks. Lighten the batter by stirring in about one-third of the egg whites. Fold in the remaining whites and the place batter in the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 45 to 50 minutes. The top of the cake will feel set and very fine hairline cracks will just start to form around the edges. Remove and cool in the pan on a rack.
To make the ganache topping: Heat the cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan to just under a boil. Add the chopped chocolate and, over very low heat, constantly stirring, cook the mixture until it is completely smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to just above luke warm.
Place the cooled cake upside down on a cardboard cake circle or a service plate. Remove the sides and bottom of the springform pan. Remove the parchment liner. Using an offset spatula, decoratively spread the ganache over what is now the top of the cake, drawing the ganache all the way out to the edges of the cake. Using the offset spatula, level the edges to give the cake a finished look. Decorate with Glace Royale & Andes mints cut into triangles.
Happy Birthday!
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