Chantilly Chocolat

This Chantilly Chocolat was baked for a friend of a friend's birthday. Am really glad that the cake was well received. This cake combines the best of a soft fluffy sponge cake, chocolate ganache and Chantily Cream.

This cake takes bout 2 hours in all to bake and assemble and I'd rate it at a difficulty of 3 out of 5.

This is how the cake is when it's cut. Beautiful isn't it? Click on to find out how you can bake this cake. 

Chantilly Chocolat Recipe

This recipe yields a 5.5" or 13cm round cake

(Mould was purchased from Daiso)

2 eggs at room temperature (55 - 60g)

50g castor sugar (fine sugar works as well too)

50g unsalted butter

47g cake flour (plain flour works as well too)

3g cocoa powder

120g non-dairy whipping cream

1.5 tsp vanilla bean paste

35ml non-dairy whipping cream

87g dark coverture chocolate

1 tsp unsalted butter

*You may opt to use dairy whipping cream in place of the whipping cream if you prefer the taste

Steps

Preheat oven to 160 degree Celsius. Sift the cocoa powder and flour.

Line your baking tin. Please do line the sides as well. I didnt line mine and I had a tougher time removing my cake. 

Here's a tutorial on how you can line the baking tin.

Melt the butter either over a double boiler or in the microwave oven for about a minute on medium heat.

Add the eggs to the sugar. Whisk on high till mixture gets all thick with tracks. It should be about 3-4 times it's original volume.

This video tutorial will better help you visualise the process of baking the cake.

This is how I tilt my bowl to allow it to mix better and faster.

This mixture is ready! 

Alternately fold in the melted butter and flour mixture 1/3 at a time till both mixtures run out. 

Pour into baking tin and lightly drop from a low height to release some of the larger air bubbles in the batter. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or till' toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. 

Remove cake from oven and remove from baking tin immediately. Allow cake to cool completely in an air tight container or cake caddy to prevent loss of moisture.

To the whipping cream, add the vanilla bean paste. The beauty in this Chantilly cream is the vanilla bean paste used to give it it's good flavour. It will be good if vanilla bean paste is used but if not, vanilla essence or vanilla extract may be used but it will not taste as good as if you were to use vanilla bean paste.

Whisk till' stiff peaks. Here's the vanilla bean paste that I love.

Prepare a sugar solution of 1 part hot/boiling water to 1 part castor/fine sugar and mix well to allow sugar to dissolve. Have the sugar solution in a spray mist bottle. Here's how my cake looks like unmoulded. Have a cake turntable ready. It's such an amazing tool to use when you want to assemble cakes.

Slice off the thinnest layer on top of the cake as that may will make your layered cake taste dry. A bread knife with serrated edges works best for slicing the cake.

Slice the cake into 3 equal layers. You may use either a bread knife or a cake separator tool. To the 1st layer, spray an even amount of sugar solution over the cake. One spray to one spot will be good enough.

Top the 1st layer with 1/4 of the Chantilly cream.

Add the second layer and repeat steps above.

Top with final layer. Spray some sugar solution to the last layer too.

Using the remaining Chantilly cream, cream the cake. 

This video tutorial will better help you visualise how you can cream the cake.

Allow cake to chill in fridge while you prepare the chocolate ganache.

Double boil or microwave the coverture chocolate. I melted my chocolate the chocolates on medium-high heat at 20 second intervals till chocolate is all shiny.

You should get something like this. 

Add in the whipping cream and microwave for another 1 minute.

Add the butter and mix well.

If you are using a double boiler, melt the chocolate first before adding the whipping cream. Mix well, remove from heat before adding the butter. Mix well again.

You should get a smooth chocolate ganache like this. 

Cover the cake with the chocolate ganache. This video tutorial for creaming the cake (same as above) will give you a better idea as on how to cream the cake.

I used the sides of my serrated bread knife to 'draw' the lines on the top of the cake. I used Wilton 1M's piping tip for the small dollop of ganache on the cake. Chill the cake till you're ready to serve it.

Here's a slice up view of the Chantilly Chocolat. Lovely isn't it?

I really love the contrast of the Chantilly cream and chocolate sponge in this cake. It was well received by the friends I baked it for. One of the greatest joy and fulfilment of baking. So try baking this today! (:

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: