CHOCOLATE CAKE
3 July 2007
Earl Grey Chocolate Cake
CHOCOLATE CAKE :
As the story goes… when my mother was pregnant with me, she used to crave chocolate so badly that she would eat several bars a day! Yet dispite this early training, I came into the world without the ‘chocolate gene‘, and therefore never truly understood what all the fuss was about when it came to desserts like chocolate cake (cries of NO & SHAME!!!)
This was until my friend Evelyn sent me her recipe for “Flourless Chocolate Brownies“. With my mother’s birthday approaching and knowing her weakness for anything chocolate, I thought what better an opportunity than to try out what Evelyn described as the most deliciously, delectable chocolate dessert she had ever tasted.
Being without a brownie pan, I decided to turn the recipe into a cake, and instead of using only plain 70% dark chocolate, I substitute 3/4 “DOLFIN” Earl Grey Tea 70% dark chocolate . The only thing left to say is that after some 20 odd years I have finally found …… chocolate cake!
CHOCOLATE CAKE Recipe - ERIKA ALLISTON Sweet Pea Blog
- 140g Dolfin Earl Grey Dark Tea Chocolate (52% cocoa)
- 85g solid dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
- 100g unsalted butter
- 175g icing sugar (sifted)
- 4 large eggs (room temperature if possible)
- icing sugar for decoration
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)
- Seperate the egg whites & yolks into two seperate bowls (use a large mixing bowl for the egg white) and set aside.
- Melt the chocolate and butter together and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
- Whisk egg yolks & icing sugar until creamy, then gradually add to the chocolate mixture.
- Finally, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff white peaks – and then fold gently (so as not to loose their lightening effect) into the chocolate mixture.
- Pour into a greased and floured 25cm bottom cake dish and bake for approx. 20 minutes until slightly cracked on the top. Once completely cool, using a sive dust the top of the cake with icing sugar.
NOTES: This chocolate cake is nice served with crème fraiche! Despite its velvety rich texture it remains a light cake, which can be made a few days in advance and stored outside the fridge covered it aluminium foil without loosing its lovely moist quality. The other advantage to this cake is that it is GLUTEN FREE – for those looking for gluten free recipes due to allergies !!
12 August 2007 at 3:42 pm
Oh I have to try this one. I love Earl Grey tea and I love chocolate…now if only I can find that special Earl Grey Dark Chocolate….
Thanks for the link love btw
13 August 2007 at 9:12 am
Love to hear how the cake turns out – I bought the Early Grey Chocolate at the local grocery store, let me know if you have luck finding it! Love your blog – your story about moving to Italy is wonderful! xxx e
14 August 2007 at 5:12 pm
Thanks Erika!
Unfortunately here in southern Italy, we usually have a limited array of products to choose from. I may, though, head up to Perugia in October for Eurochocolate, and I’m bound to find some there. Short of that, I’ll do what I always do–ask my mommy to find it and send it from the States
15 August 2007 at 9:44 am
We have a house in Provence and it is the same situation, so I understand. Let me know if you / your mom can’t find the tea chocolate and i can pop a few bars in the post to you (perhaps when the weather gets a bit cooler!!! ha ha)
PS I was also thinking to go to the Eurochocolate festival, let’s chat closer to the time.
15 August 2007 at 12:51 pm
Sounds good to me–all of it!
My fiancé’s sister lives in Puget sur Argens…anywhere near your house by chance?
15 August 2007 at 12:52 pm
Ah, I forgot to add…please feel free to email me:
bleedingespresso dot sognatrice at gmail dot com
21 August 2007 at 7:46 am
Just made the Gateau au Chocolat last night as a girlfriend’s birthday cake.
It was a huge success and my friend was over the moon. She and her husband were oohing and awing over every morsel. The fact that it is flourless is really amazing. The taste was like having velvet in your mouth – absolutely delicious and one of the easiest desserts I have ever made.
21 August 2007 at 7:48 am
So pleased that the cake turned out so well! Noni said she was taking the recipe to Jeff’s girlfriend as she is allergic to flour and loves chocolate cake… so this will be perfect
12 September 2007 at 12:37 pm
I made the flourless chocolate cake for the third time a week ago for some special friends. They raved about the texture and of course the lovely creamy taste. The comments were “are you sure there is no flour in this”?
And then…………….they asked for more! From a chocoholic (that would be me), this is one of the most decadent desserts I have ever tasted. I served it with ultra thin pear slices and raspberries with a scoop of vanilla icecream.
1 March 2009 at 2:09 am
hey erika, i’m currently living in Montreux, Switzerland. I was wondering that since you made the Earl Grey Dark Chocolate cake, do you know where I can find the plain Earl Grey Cakes? Are there any in bakeries in Geneva? I wanna get one for my girlfriend’s birthday coming up on the 10th of march. Thanks!
2 March 2009 at 11:33 am
Sani: hi, I have never seen Earl Grey cakes in the bakeries or chocolate shops in Geneva. This is an invention of my own. I buy the Dolfin Earl Grey dark chocolate at the COOP supermarket. I have tried making this recipe using only normal dark chocolate, but it just isn’t the same. The Earl Grey chocolate adds a special unique taste. So if it is an Earl Grey chocolate cake that you want for your girlfriend’s birthday I think you will either have to bake one or for buying a normal chocolate cake. Let me know if I can be or more help