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Sunday November 22, 2009
mmm .... chocolate
Although it's always a good time for tea as far as I'm concerned, we keep the tradition of "tea-time" at weekends. So occasionally at the weekend I like to make a cake.
This is a very grown-up chocolate cake; it's very rich but not too sickly. It's very chocolatey, so you need to use a good quality chocolate for the cake and the icing. Below is the recipe for a small version of the cake.
Sachertorte
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 2½ oz plain chocolate
- 2 oz butter
- 2 oz golden caster sugar
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1½ oz self-raising flour
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 3 teaspoons rum
- ½ teaspoon almond essence
- 2 teaspoons water
For the icing:
- 1 generous tablespoon of apricot jam
- 2 oz sugar
- 3 tablespoons boiling water
- 3 oz plain chocolate
Method
- Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C, or Gas Mark 3.
- Grease and line a 6 inch sandwich tin, (loose-bottomed, or springform is ideal).
- Melt the chocolate and allow to cool.
- Cream the softened butter with the caster sugar.
- Beat in the chocolate, and egg yolks.
- Sift the flour with the cocoa powder and fold into the mixture.
- Add the rum, almond essence and water.
- Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the chocolate mixture.
- Turn into the tin, and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed with the fingertip.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out. - When the cake has completely cooled, melt some apricot jam - sieve if necessary - and brush over the top and sides of the cake.
- Make the icing by dissolving the sugar in the boiling water and then breaking in chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth, then boil for 1-2 minutes more, stir again, and pour over the top and sides of the cake, spreading with a palette knife. Allow to cool and set.
- The cake can be stored for a day or two - if it lasts that long.
Posted by Christina at 7:14 PM. Category: Kitchen and food
