I am pretty keen on chocolate, it has to be said. And I like chocolate puddings in almost all their guises from the lightest, frothiest of mousses to the densest, darkest torte. This recipe though, smacks of perfection. It has a wickedly dense, velvety interior and a contrasting crisp brownie-like top. One mouthful and I was in heaven. The best thing about this recipe? It takes virtually no time to make and you make it a day in advance - perfect for the busy cook...
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Green and Blacks Chocolate Mousse Cake
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Use a 20-23 cm (8 or 9 inch) cake tin with removable base.
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300g Green and Blacks dark chocolate*
275g Caster Sugar
165g Butter
Pinch of Sea Salt
5 Large Free-Range Eggs
Icing Sugar
1 Tablespoon Ground Almonds (plus extra for dusting)
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1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Butter cake tin and dust with some ground almonds.
3. Melt the first 4 ingredients in a bowl placed above a pan of simmering water.
4. Whisk the eggs with the ground almonds and then fold into the chocolate mixture, off the heat.
5. Pour into cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove sides from tin and allow to cool on its base.
6. The cake can be eaten on the same day, or, for a denser, fudgier texture, place in fridge overnight and eat the next day, dusted with the icing sugar.
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*I used Maya Gold chocolate for this. It has a subtle hint of orange and spices which I felt 'lifted' the flavour of the cake and added another element. I also use this chocolate for brownies.
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NOTES - The cake will rise in the oven a little, but sink right down when you take it out (as per the picture).
This is seriously rich - even I could only manage a fairly thin slice.
I served it with a choice of creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.
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Take a look at the Green and Blacks website for more recipes and information on their organic, fairtrade chocolate.
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WINE SUGGESTION
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Matching chocolate with wine is challenging (it definitely warrants an entry to itself). But I love a challenge, so that is fortunate. The 'problem' lies in the fact that chocolate has this wonderful melting quality which totally coats the mouth - few wines can make it through the barrier! Fortified wines work best. And they have to be seriously sweet (at least as sweet as the dessert in question).
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We enjoyed a Pedro Ximenez sherry with this. Almost black with a treacle-like intensity (and consistency), it is as deeply wicked as the pudding with its glorious figgy, dark muscovado sugar flavour. It is also divine poured over good vanilla ice cream.
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I recommend -
Fernando de Castilla Antique Pedro Ximenez - £17.50 (The Wine Society)
3 comments:
What a delicious choice for your first recipe post. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the English term "pudding" would compare to in the States as we would call this scrumptious dessert a "flour-less chocolate cake".
Ever since receiving Green and Black's chocolate from my BBM partner I have been purchasing it on a regular basis. I have a bar of the ginger flavor in my pantry and am looking forward to savoring it sometime this weekend!
Love that you offer a wine pairing, that is very informative.
It is a little confusing, I know! We actually use the term 'pudding' in the same way as you might use the term 'dessert'. e.g. 'What's for pudding?'.
We do have some 'desserts' that have the word 'pudding' in the title - these are usually steamed puddings. But really, the word is a general one. So cheesecake, ice-cream, flourless chocolate cake, apple pie and even fruit salad can all be called 'puddings' in England.
OK, I see. Thank you for the education :)
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