Chocolat Surprise

A rich Secret Recipe-alike Ganache covering a cake with luxurious chocolate cream and chocolate sponge cake. Within it hides fresh seasonal mango cubes. What's there not to like? This was baked for Adrian as a secret surprise birthday gift which I delivered to his office in church. 

This recipe takes about 3 hours in all to put together and I'd rate it a 3 out of 5 in terms of difficulty. 

Chocolate Surprise Recipe

This recipe yields one 6" round cake

Chocolate Sponge Cake

3 eggs (55 - 60g eggs)

75g fine sugar

72g plain flour

3g cocoa powder

75g unsalted butter

Chocolate filling

250g whipping cream

130g dark coverture chocolate

1 mango

Chocolate Ganache

53ml whipping cream

133g dark coverture chocolate

1/3 tbsp unsalted butter

Method

Sift the cake flour and cocoa powder.

Melt the butter in the microwave oven for 1 - 2 mins on medium heat till all dissolved. 

Preheat oven to 160 degree Celsius. Grease and line baking tin.

Add the eggs to the sugar. Whisk till stiff peaks form. When the mixture has reached stiff peaks, fold in the flour mixture and melted butter mixture in 3 additions. Here's a video to show you how the cake batter can be prepared. 

Pour batter into tin and bake for 20 - 30 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the cake. Allow to cool in a cake caddy to prevent loss of moisture.

When the cake is ready, remove from oven.

Cover tin with a cake base and invert cake. Remove baking paper.

Place another cake board on the base of the cake and flip back.

Store your cake in a cake caddy and allow it to cool completely! (:

Melt the chocolate in the microwave oven on medium heat for 2 - 3 minutes. It should be shiny when ready.

Stir well.

Add the melted coverture chocolate into the whipping cream that has been whisked to stiff peaks.

Mix well till all incorporated.

Cube the mango.

Have the cake ready on the cake board. Trim off top part as it's usually what causes the cake to be dry. 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.

Slice cake into 2 equal parts.

Spray a small amount of sugar solution on the cake to keep it moist. Spread a 2cm tall layer of chocolate filling onto the cake. (Image shows a thin layer but coat a tall 2cm layer anyway)

Pipe 2 rounds of chocolate filling around the rim of the cake.

Fill the insides with mango. 

Spread another 2cm of chocolate filling on cake, covering the mango.

Cover with second layer of cake and spray some sugar solution on it. Coat with a layer of frosting/remaining chocolate filling. 

This video tutorial will better help you visualise how you can cream the cake. Allow cake to chill while preparing ganache. 

Warm up the chocolate either by double-boiling or by microwaving it at 20 second intervals on medium heat till it's all shiny.

Add the whipping cream and heat up for 2 minutes over 30 second intervals in the microwave. Alternatively, double boil it for 2 minutes and stir. 

Remove from heat/oven and add in butter. Mix well. 

Allow mixture to come to room temperature before covering cake.

Frosted & chilled!

You can either choose to pour the ganache over the cake with the cake rested on a wire rack. Alternatively, cream it the way you'd do with the chocolate filling. 

Use a little of the remaining ganache and pipe super thin lines (Wilton tip #1 if you need) in a cross cross fashion. 

So there you have it.. A lovely Chocolat Surprise! Fill it with any fruits that's in season that you may fancy! (: 

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! (: