CHOCOLATE CLOUD CAKE

Good Morning,

Yesterday, Phyllis and I were sitting with our feet up, enjoying our morning tea and coffee (Phyllis had tea and I drank coffee).  We were chatting about this and that, when Phyllis said, "I know what we should do, let's make a cake".  So I thought it would be nice to bake a cake  which she had never made before.....and here it is a Chocolate Cloud Cake.

This cake was introduced to me, by Natasha, who by now, you know is our daughter.  It's a cake that is delicious and looks impressive when the need arises.

The recipe I used is from Nigella Lawson's Cookery Book, Nigella Bites. This cookery book is well used and is looking quite "dog eared" , but that's a good sign as it means I use the recipes all the time. 

THE INGREDIENTS

250g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids

125g unsalted butter, softened

6 eggs, 2 whole, 4 separated

175 g caster sugar

grated zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons of Cointreau (optional)

Butter and line  a 23cm spring form cake tin with baking parchment

Pre-heat the oven 180C/Gas Mark 4 

Looks like I have been licking the bowl! There is no way to photograph this in a neat and tidy way!

I thought it best to show you how it really looks.

Melt the chocolate over

 a saucepan of hot water.

Add the butter and allow to melt

 in the warm chocolate.

  

Beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks

 with 75g of the caster sugar.

 Gently add the grated orange,

 the chocolate mixture and 

Cointreau if using

 and mix. 

In another bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites

 until foamy, then gradually

 add the 100g of sugar and whisk

 until the whites are holding their shape,

 but not too stiff.

Lighten the chocolate mixture

 with 2 tablespoons of the egg whites,

 then gently fold in the rest of the whites. 

Pour into the prepared tin

 and bake for 35-40 minutes

 or until the cake is risen

 and the centre is no longer wobbly. 

Don't worry that the cake is cracked as this is how it should look. Cool the cake in it's tin on a wire rack.  You will find the middle sinks as it cools.

  

Sorry, forgot to show you the chocolate.... no I didn't eat it! honestly!

THE CREAM TOPPING

500ml double cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

grated chocolate  

Do you see the television in the top right hand corner, I could say we were listening to a music channel whilst baking.

But in actual fact Phyllis was watching a zumba cd.....yes I did say a zumba cd whilst the cake was cooling and doing her version of the moves! 

When you are ready to eat the cake, place the still tin-bound cake on a cake stand or plate for serving and carefully remove the cake from it's tin.  Don't worry about the cracks and rough edges.

Whip the cream until it is soft

 and then add the vanilla extract,

 continue whisking until the cream is firm,

 but not too stiff.

Fill the sunken part of the cake with cream. Phyllis

was my extra pair of hands and she spooned on the cream for me.

And finally, sprinkle the cream liberally with grated chocolate.

 Doesn't it look fabulous.  Of course the cloud part of the cake is the cream on top.

I've shown you a photograph of the cake sliced so that you can see the baking parchment.  The cake is so fragile I had to leave it on the base, as I have not found a way of removing it without spoiling the cake.  If anyone has any idea how to remove it I would love to know.  Just to say I can't turn it onto another plate as the top would be crushed and  spoilt.

And there we have it, a delicious cake. 

We allowed it to cool, which was very hard to do, then each of us had a slice with a cup of coffee and we sat in the garden with a smile  of sweet satisfaction on our faces.....what a nice way to spend a day.

This week I shall be joining,

Connie at Family Home and Life
Sherry at The Charm of Home

So until next time, take care.