Devil's Food Cake

Mmmm what’s better than cake? Chocolate cake and plenty of it!

After a hiatus from blogging for various reasons – motivation, or lack there of being one – I’ve decided it’s time for another attempt. ‘Real’ life has more than been full enough to make up from my somewhat absent blogging life. To name a few things, we’ve had two (soon to be three) groups of visitors from the UK totaling two months of hosting friends, which is always wonderful fun. Surviving a very busy university life while maintaining a regular cycling routine and a not so regular gym routine. New cafes have been discovered, tested and more often than not returned to with family and friends. Indeed, Fathers’ Day involved just that.

Now onto the recipe.

This is Design Sponge’s Devil’s Food Cake, which went down a treat (pardon the pun) for my younger sister’s birthday … back in November. This cake was wonderfully rich but not overpoweringly so - though that all depends on how many slices you have! After the party we placed the remaining cake in an airtight container in the fridge because it was too warm and humid to be left on the counter. The following day the cake became slightly fudgy leading to all involved switching to mass cake demolition mode, well worth the painful bellies that ensued.  

Bear in mind that as ingredient quality increases so does the final product. You'll never get an outstanding ganache with mediocre chocolate.

Ingredients           
          Devil's Food Cake

150g unsalted butter (more for pans)
50g cocoa powder (more for pans)
2/3 cup boiling water
1/3 cup milk, scalded
210g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
300g granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract

           Whipped Ganache

15 g dark (70% cacao) chocolate, chopped
150g milk (40% cacao) chocolate, chopped
400g Nutella (the original recipe calls for Biscoff spread but I was unable to source any)
400g cold heavy cream

        Chocolate Shards

120g dark chocolate, chopped

Method
          Chocolate Shards

The shards can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated until needed, just ensure that the ganache is at room temperature so the shards stick well.

To make the shards place the chopped chocolate into a double boiler and let it melt. When completely melted pour the chocolate onto a 16-inch length of baking paper resting on your bench top and using a palate knife or similar spread the liquid chocolate out evenly, maintaining about 1/3 of an inch away from the edge of the paper. Cover the chocolate with a second sheet of baking paper the same size as the first and gently smooth any air bubbles to the edge of the paper. Roll the paper from one short end to the other tightly to form a 1-inch tube and place on a tray in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. Unroll the tube in one smooth, quick movement to create the shards and refrigerate until ready to use.

        Devil’s Food Cake

1. Move oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 175°C. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with baking paper. Butter the baking papers and dust with cocoa powder, tapping out excess.
2. Sift cocoa powder into a medium bowl, add boiling water slowly while whisking to prevent lumps forming. Whisk in milk. Set aside to cool.
3. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.
4. In a large bowl, cream butter on medium speed of an electric mixer or by hand until light and fluffy. Add sugar and continue beating on medium speed for 5 more minutes, scraping down the sides with a spatula as every so often. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Beat in vanilla.
5. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture on a low speed.
6. Divide batter equally between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, rotating pans halfway through for even baking if over is not fan forced. Allow to cool in the pans for a 5 minutes, then take out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

           Whipped Ganache

Place both milk and dark chocolate in a double boiler and allow to melt. Remove from heat and whisk in the Nutella. Add heavy cream and using an electric mixer, whisk until soft peaks form. Be careful not to over beat, as the frosting will become grainy.

        Putting it all Together

1. Remove parchment papers from the bottoms of the cakes. Using a long, serrated knife, remove the top crusts to flatten the surface of the cakes. Place one cake on an 8-inch cardboard round or your serving plate (Several 2-3-inch wide strips of baking paper placed around the cakes edges will keep the serving plate clean after frosting).
2. Frost the top of the first cake with a 1/3 of the ganache. Place the second cake on top and frost the top and the sides with the remaining ganache.
3. Take the frozen chocolate chards out of the refrigerator and gently stick the shards to the ganache with the help of a tweezer as the heat from your hand may start to melt the shards, tweezers also allow for greater precision. Use long shards for the sides and smaller pieces for the top. Place the cake in the refrigerator until the ganache is firmly set, about an hour, then serve.

 

Biscuit Icing and Decorating

Royal Icing

I had to cut it short when doing the biscuit post as it was closer to early morning than late evening when I finished. The icing I use on the cookies is from 'Delia Smith's Christmas' page 24 (yes I know the page off by heart - bit sad isn't it?!)

Ingredient: 

500g icing sugar

3 large egg whites

1 tsp glycerine

Method:

Place the egg whites in a bowl and slowly add the sifted icing sugar mixing with a metal spoon until it drips thickly from the spoon. Once combined beat with a mixer for 10 minutes until it stands in stiff peaks. Then stir in the glycerine, this will give it a glossy sheen. 

Simply divide the mixture amongst different blows, one for each colour. I use gel colours as these don’t turn the icing sugar runny as can happen if you need an intense, deep colour. To fill or ‘flood’ the biscuits thin the icing by adding a few drops of water until you achieve a runny consistency that when lifted with a spoon folds back on itself almost immediately. 

For Directions about how to ice biscuits I highly recommend looking at Bake At 350 and University of Cookie. That’s where I’ve got all my ideas and technique (which needs improvement) so definetly take a look at this group get up to.

Other Decorations:

About 9 or 10 months ago mum and some of her friends (J.A.C.K - their initials. K being my mum Kathy) discovered macarons, NOT macaroons!!! I won’t go into the ins and outs of making them yet - that would take an incredibly long time to type up as there are three methods, French, Italian and Spanish which range in stability and difficulty. However more of that later, at the moment I’m going to talk about the decorations we have. 

We have a tin which is more like a treasure trove, full of bits and pieces for decorating and flavouring. It was originally - when I was about 5 - used for holding sweets, lollies and chocolates, this elusive tin was always something of a source of wonder as it seamed to move locations every few weeks. It would be re-hidden and my sister and I would begin the hunt all over again, when my parents noticed the the supplies were getting suspiciously low it would suddenly disappear then reappear in a new location all over again. 

Nowadays, we have crystalised violets for the macs, green, purple and pink glitters, red and pink hearts, sugar balls of all colours - I’ve only photographed the pink ones. We have no shortage of cupcake holders, ribbons, brushes, extracts, props and dishes for photographing. So here’s a look at the tin that has been the bounty of many sugar cravings.

Jamie’s Baked Chocolate Tart

I have made Jamie Oliver's baked chocolate tart numerous times for my family on a quiet night in as well as for special occasions. It’s foolproof! The pastry is beautifully delicate and the chocolate mixture is rich so only have a little. It is complimented perfectly with either fruit in summer or coffee in winter. The pastry recipe is included below the tart recipe. Oh one other thing, these photos are from about 2 if not 3 years ago, I never thought anyone else would see these as they are more of a personal record. So apologies for the poor lighting and lack of centerdness (new word) but at least it gives you an idea of how it'll turn out.

Baked Chocolate Tart

Ingredients:

150g unsalted butter

160g good quality chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids)

8 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder sifted

Small pinch salt

4 large eggs

200g granulated sugar

3 tablespoons golden syrup

3 tablespoons crème fraiche or double cream

10-inch (25cm) tart shell baked blind (see below)

Method:

Preheat oven to 150ºC

Place the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder and salt in a bain marie (a bowl held above a saucepan of simmering water, do not allow the bowl to be at all immersed in the water as this can cause scorching). Occasionally stir the melting ingredients.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugar together until light and well creamed, followed by the golden syrup and sour cream or crème fraiche. Add the chocolate mixture into this mixture, scraping all the chocolate out with a spatula. Mix again until well combined, then pour into the blindbaked pastry shell (see below). Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. During cooking a beautiful crust will form on top.

Once the time has passed remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes, during which time the surface will crack and the filling will shrink slightly. Then simply remove it from the shell and serve. You will need to keep the tart on the shell base, it may split if it is moved as it is heavy.

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Ingredients:

500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

100g icing sugar, sifted

250g unsalted cold butter, cut into small cubes

zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs beaten, I always use free range

splash of milk

Method:

Sieve the flour from a height (for greater aeration) on to a clean work surface or wide bowl and sieve the icing sugar over the top. Rub the cubed butter into the flour mixture using your thumb against your index, middle and ring fingers, you end up with a fine, crumbly mixture. Now add the zest or any other flavouring of your choice.

Add the eggs and milk to the mixture and gently work it together until you have a ball of dough. Don’t work it too much as it will become elastic and chewy as opposed to being desirably crumbly and short. Flour your work surface and place the dough on top. Pat it into a flat round, flour it lightly, wrap it in clingfilm and put it into the fridge to rest for at least half an hour. When you need to use it simply re flour the dough and the work surface and roll out to line your tart shell. Don’t worry too much if it breaks, it’s better to patch it up than to re-kneed it numerous times, plus it will add a rustic touch.

Remember be creative, if you’re out of lemons try orange or lime zest, or you could add some nutmeg, cocoa, vanilla or cinnamon. So long as you keep these flavours subtle you can't go wrong ... though maybe don't try flavouring with Vegemite!

HH