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Cooking
Chocolate Cake for Sweethearts
· 8 servings
Start by weighing your ingredients
Weigh the eggs in their shells (using the exact number of eggs you plan to use) — you'll need the same weight of granulated 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 of flour with good-quality cocoa powder instead.
Whipped egg yolk foam
Allow 2 tablespoons of hot water per egg. Whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and water. Once the foam has thickened and the sugar has dissolved, whip the egg whites into stiff peaks and fold them into the yolk foam 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 door for at least the first half hour, or the batter may sink.
Skewer test
After this 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 thoroughly. Only once it's completely cool should you slice it horizontally — as many times as you like and as the height of the sponge allows.
Chocolate cream
Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and break the chocolate into it. Let it sit 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 stages. Taste and sweeten with sugar to your liking.
Slice the sponge into layers
Slice the chilled sponge into as many layers as you can manage. Spread each layer first with jam or Nutella, then add a generous layer of the chocolate cream. Stack the cake back together.
Glaze
Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and break the chocolate into it. Let it sit 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 your imagination takes you. While the glaze is still setting, arrange fruit on top, then finish with a sprinkle of chopped nuts. Chill before serving.