michelle picker cooks

Another recipe from SWEET  by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. We ate these delightful little cakes while they were still slightly warm. With a thin crispy crust, they were moist and light on the inside and had a wonderful deep chocolate flavour. The amazingly glossy chocolate ganache was not so easy to make but tasted great and looked amazing!

For the cakes preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF) and grease 12 muffin tins or mini bundt pans. Separate 5 large eggs, placing the whites in the bowl of a mixer. Over a double boiler melt 200g (7 oz) of dark 70% chocolate and 180g (6⅓ oz) of butter – the recipe stipulates unsalted butter but mine was salted. Whisk the mixture and when melted add 80g (2¾ oz) of caster sugar, 160g (5⅔ oz) of ground almond meal, the 5 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of instant coffee dissolved in a teaspoon of boiling water and 5 teaspoons of Amaretto – I didn’t have any so I used Frangelico instead. Stir to combine. Now add a whisk attachment to your mixer and if you’ve used unsalted butter add ¼ of a teaspoon of salt to your egg whites. Beat on high speed until you have soft peaks. Continue to whisk while slowly adding 80g (2¾ oz) of caster sugar until the mixture is light and firm. Spoon a little into the chocolate to loosen the mixture then gently fold in the rest. Here the recipe suggests resting the mixture for an hour but as I was short of time I divided it into my muffin tins and baked it for 20 minutes, turning the tray after 10 minutes to ensure even baking. Depending on your oven efficiency they may take a few minutes longer. Cool them in the tins for 10 minutes before turning them out. For the ganache measure 85g (3 oz) of dark chocolate into a bowl. In a small saucepan over low to medium heat combine 35g (1¼ oz) each of caster sugar and liquid glucose. Stir to combine and when the sugar melts, increase the heat to medium and cook until it turns a pale amber colour. Remove from the heat and carefully pour in 60ml (2 fl oz) of water. If the mixture seizes return it to the heat and stir gently to dissolve. Add the scraped seeds of ½ a vanilla pod and stir through. Pour this caramel mixture over the chocolate, allowing it to sit for 5 minutes then whisk to combine. While whisking add 35g (1¼ oz) of room temperature butter bit by bit until the mixture is smooth and shiny. If you find the mixture is too stiff, add a little boiling water to loosen it. When the cakes are cool enough, spread some ganache over each one allowing it to dribble down the sides. Cool and enjoy!