Cooking&Baking Challenge - Session 3 - Birthday cake

Our little girl turned 2yo this month and we decided to make her a chocolate cake with berries, her favourite being blueberries and raspberries (she can eat a lot of them in a very short time). I gave my husband a Green&Blacks cooking book some years ago. They have amazing recipes both for desserts and main dishes (all with chocolate). The following recipe was just perfect for little N. :

Chocolate Berry Torte

Preparation time:	25 minutes
Cooking time:	40 minutes
Use:	a cake pan, 7 ½ -8 inches across, 2 ½ inches deep
Serves:	6

TORTE

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 5 teaspoons organic unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 ounces dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa content, broken into pieces
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 teaspoons heavy cream [I made the mistake of using 5 tablespoons instead, it made the cake a bit too mousse-like but it was ok]
• 4 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 ½ cups raspberries
• mixed berries and whipping cream to serve

ICING

• One 3.5 ounce bar dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa content, broken into pieces
• ¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 275°F. Butter the cake pan and lightly dust with flour to coat. Sift together the flour and cocoa and set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat, add the butter and the cream, and stir well until the mixture is quite liquid. Remove bowl from pan.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, add the sugar, and continue to whisk until think and glossy. In another large bowl, beat together the egg yolks then gently fold in the flour mixture. Add the melted chocolate and mix well. Spoon a few dollops of egg white into the mixture, stir, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Gently pour half the mixture into the prepared cake pan, dot half the raspberries evenly over it, then pour the rest of the mixture on top of the berries.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and unmold onto a wire rack to cool.

To make the icing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, cream, and confectioners’ sugar. Immediately pour it over the cake to coat it completely, smoothing the icing using a metal spatula. Leave for 1 hour to set.

Serve with whipped cream and mixed berries.

Recipe here

It was absolutely DE-LI-CIOUS!! I will make it again any time! I was afraid it might be too much chocolate or sugar, but it was all very well balanced and the fruits made it PERFECT!