Chocolate Cake for Lovers
·Weigh out your ingredients
Weigh the eggs in their shells (using however many eggs you want to use), then measure out the same weight of caster sugar and the same weight of plain flour. Careful! For this cocoa sponge, subtract 50 g from the flour weight and replace those 50 g with good-quality cocoa powder instead.
Whisked egg yolk foam
Allow 2 tablespoons of hot water per egg. Whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and water. Once the foam thickens and the sugar has dissolved, whip the egg whites into stiff peaks and fold them into the yolk mixture alternately with the flour.
Prepare the tin
Pour the sponge batter into a 26 cm cake tin lined with baking paper. Don't press the paper down into the tin. Cut a circle to fit the base exactly, plus strips to line the sides of the tin.
Bake
Bake in an oven preheated to 175°C (160°C fan). Baking time depends on the size and height of the sponge, but it's usually somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes. Don't open the oven during the first half hour, or the sponge may sink.
Skewer test
After that time, you can open the oven and insert a skewer into the centre of the sponge. It should come out clean.
Let it cool
Let the sponge cool completely. Only then slice it horizontally into as many layers as you like, as many as the height of the sponge allows.
Chocolate cream
Bring the cream to the boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and break the chocolate into it. Leave to stand for five minutes, then stir with a metal whisk until you get a smooth chocolate mixture. Let it cool completely.
Whip until smooth
Put the mascarpone and cream into a stand mixer and whip together for a few minutes. Add the chocolate mixture gradually, in batches. Taste and sweeten with sugar to your liking.
Slice the sponge into layers
Slice the cooled sponge into as many layers as you manage to. Spread each layer first with jam or Nutella, then add a generous layer of the cream. Stack the cake back together.
Glaze
Put the cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and break the chocolate into it. Leave to stand for five minutes, then stir with a metal whisk until you get a smooth chocolate mixture.
Finishing touches
Let the glaze cool slightly, then pour it over the whole cake. Decorate the cake however you like. While the glaze is still setting, press pieces of fruit into it, then finish with a sprinkle of chopped nuts. Leave to chill.
