I'm sorry I'm late!! I didn't have time to make this cake until last night..and didn't have time to post until now. Better late than never! For this month's Daring Baker's challenge, we were tasked to make a Chocolate Flourless cake and a ice cream of our choice.
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
A tip from our hosts is to use a chocolate that you love, because the cake would taste exactly like the chocolate. I decided to splurge and use some bittersweet chocolate I bought when I was in Paris. The recipe calls for 16oz of chocolate..and I didn't have the heart to use all my chocolate in one go, so I halved the recipe.
The result is the most decadent chocolate cake I've ever tasted. It was more like a truffle than a cake. You really only need a very small slice to satisfy your chocolate craving..it's really that potent! As an accompaniment, I made a green tea white chocolate ice cream that I found from Tartelette. This is my first time making ice cream, and I was surprised how good it was!! It's not quite as good as Bubbies' green tea ice cream...but, I will keep trying! =P Here are the recipes.
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
A tip from our hosts is to use a chocolate that you love, because the cake would taste exactly like the chocolate. I decided to splurge and use some bittersweet chocolate I bought when I was in Paris. The recipe calls for 16oz of chocolate..and I didn't have the heart to use all my chocolate in one go, so I halved the recipe.
The result is the most decadent chocolate cake I've ever tasted. It was more like a truffle than a cake. You really only need a very small slice to satisfy your chocolate craving..it's really that potent! As an accompaniment, I made a green tea white chocolate ice cream that I found from Tartelette. This is my first time making ice cream, and I was surprised how good it was!! It's not quite as good as Bubbies' green tea ice cream...but, I will keep trying! =P Here are the recipes.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
8 ounces of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
3 large eggs separated
1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
adapted from Tartelette
Makes a little over a quart
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
4 large egg yolks
6 oz white chocolate, finely chopped (see note)
2 1/2 tablespoons matcha powder, sifted (see note)
1. In a medium heavy saucepan, bring the cream, milk, and salt to low boil, stirring constantly.
2. Whisk the eggs until pale yellow eggs, pour the hot cream mixture in a thin, steady stream in the bowl of eggs. Now pour mixture back in the saucepan.
3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, just until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of it, about 5 minutes. Looks like your making custard sauce or creme anglaise at this point. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and pass it through a strainer, add the matcha powder and stir well with a whisk.
4. Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring at 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted. Add the chocolate to the matcha cream and whisk it in well. Cool the cream to room temperature, cover with a layer of plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cold.
5. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions of your ice cream machine.
Note:
2. Whisk the eggs until pale yellow eggs, pour the hot cream mixture in a thin, steady stream in the bowl of eggs. Now pour mixture back in the saucepan.
3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, just until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of it, about 5 minutes. Looks like your making custard sauce or creme anglaise at this point. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and pass it through a strainer, add the matcha powder and stir well with a whisk.
4. Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring at 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted. Add the chocolate to the matcha cream and whisk it in well. Cool the cream to room temperature, cover with a layer of plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cold.
5. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions of your ice cream machine.
Note:
- The original recipe uses 8 oz of white chocolate. I didn't want the taste of the chocolate to overpower the green tea, so I decreased it to 6 oz. I thought it was sweet enough with 6 oz.
- The original recipe uses 2 tbsp of matcha powder. I used 2 1/2 tbsp to increase the green tea potency. I had a hard time dissolving the powder into the cream mixture. Next time, I will pour a small amount of the cream mixture into the tea powder to form a paste before I mix it into the cream.
Beautiful job on both the cake and ice cream! Perfect combination!
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