Piece of life
It’s 4:30 am as I write down this article; my husband is in a meeting with the other side of the world, so it was necessary to put the alarm clock on. I used to wake up early, but it is a bit much, so bye-bye, sleep. But let’s look at the positive side; I have time to write you a bit before the kids wake up.
And today is a special day: my birthday! I’m blowing out my 39th candle, the last straight line before the forties; ouch! Obviously, the festivities will be restricted this year, with no family [we can’t travel] and no friends [we are in the red zone]. But at least I’m lucky to have my treasures: my kids and my husband will pamper me without any doubt. And who says birthday says cake, of course. So, I could go for a complicated dessert but what I want is simply a chocolate cake. And with some nostalgia, I remember all our family birthdays and the wonderful chocolate cake my mother prepared for us, invariably on all our birthdays. With five people in the family for 20 years at least, the math is simple; I enjoyed this cake at least a hundred times [and actually much more since I’ve been preparing it for the past 20 years… well, 19 ? ]. As a nutritionist, I recently discussed the importance of associating moments with recipes and creating specific memories with a dish. Well, this cake represents exactly that for me. If there is one memory carved in my mind concerning my childhood birthdays, it is this chocolate cake recipe.
About the Chocolate Cake
This is an easy cake: 15 min preparation. Traditionally, my mother covered it with a butter chocolate glaze, which she sprinkled little multicoloured vermicelli over. I changed the recipe to a hard glaze [glaçage rocher]. The glaze is not even mandatory, but it would be a shame to go without it. Regarding the shape, I have fun using different moulds. But at the time, all those fancy moulds that you can find nowadays did not exist, so it was in a good old springform mould that she prepared it, and it still is a very good option. This cake is simply good, the good old classic chocolate cake that everyone loves.
My suggestions
For chocolate lovers, take a look at this wonderful chocolate, praline & lime pie. You will not be disappointed.
Chocolate Cake
Équipements
- Whip beater
- 20 cm diameter mold
Ingredients
- 125 g dark chocolate
- 100 g flour
- 100 g sugar
- 70 g butter
- 4 eggs yolks and whites separated
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1/2 sachet yeast
- 1 bottle cap dark rum optional
- 1 pinch salt
For the "glaçage rocher"
- 100 g dark chocolate
- 25 g chopped hazelnuts (or almonds, or pecans…)
- 15 g grape seed oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- In a saucepan, melt down under low heat the chocolate with the butter and the milk.
- Once the chocolate is melted, take it out from the heat and add the yolks, one at a time, incorporating them well each time.
- In a salad bowl, mix the flour, yeast, sugar and the salt.
- Add that dry ingredient mixture to the melted chocolate, and also the rum.
- Whip the egg whites, then, softly add them to the mixture.
- Pour in the mold and bake it for 40 min.
Glazing
- Melt the chocolate down (bain-marie, microwave)
- Add the oil and the hazelnuts. Let it cool down at room temperature.
- Pour over the cake.
