Premium Chocolate Walnut Cake

Name: Premium Chocolate Walnut Cake
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Ingredients: 140 g Plain chocolate; 75 g European-style plain chocolate; 90 g Unsalted butter; 5 Eggs; 180 g Caster sugar; 1 tsp Vanilla extract; 90 g Plain flour; 1/2 tsp Salt; 1/2 tsp Baking powder; 3 tbsp Cultured cream or buttermilk; 150 g Walnut kernels, lightly toasted and chopped; 180 g European-style plain chocolate (for frosting); 350 ml Double cream, scalded; 45 g Butter (for frosting); to taste Chocolate batons (plain, milk, and white chocolate); to taste Cocoa powder, for decoration

A rich, moist chocolate cake layered with pecan frosting, best enjoyed with wine or cream.

1h 40m

Medium

0 favorites

Ingredients

Plain chocolate 140 g

European-style plain chocolate 75 g

Unsalted butter 90 g

Eggs 5

Caster sugar 180 g

Vanilla extract 1 tsp

Plain flour 90 g

Salt 1/2 tsp

Baking powder 1/2 tsp

Cultured cream or buttermilk 3 tbsp

Walnut kernels, lightly toasted and chopped 150 g

European-style plain chocolate (for frosting) 180 g

Double cream, scalded 350 ml

Butter (for frosting) 45 g

Chocolate batons (plain, milk, and white chocolate) to taste

Cocoa powder, for decoration to taste

Instructions

Make the cake batter

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a saucepan over gentle heat (see page 30).

Whisk the egg mixture

Place the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl and set the bowl over a pan of hot water. Whisk until the eggs double in volume and the mixture becomes thick, then pour into the chocolate mixture and stir gently to combine.

Fold in the flour

Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together 3 times. Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture at a time, folding carefully after each addition. Then fold in the cultured cream or buttermilk.

Bake the cake

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in a preheated oven for about 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool, then turn it out onto the rack and leave to cool completely.

Prepare the frosting ingredients

To make the frosting, lightly toast the walnut kernels in the oven for about 10 minutes, then roughly chop them.

Make the frosting

Chop both chocolates and place in a bowl. Bring the cream to the boil, pour it over the chocolate, stir gently until smooth, then add the butter and stir to combine. Reserve 250 ml of the mixture and fold the chopped walnuts into the remainder. Whip both mixtures until they are thick enough to spread.

Assemble and decorate

Cut the cake into 3 layers (see page 46). Place one layer on a cake board or flat plate, spread with the walnut frosting filling, then sandwich the layers together. Use the plain frosting (see page 47) to cover the top and sides of the cake. Finally, decorate with the chocolate batons and a light dusting of cocoa powder.