serves
10-12
prep
20 minutes
cook
25 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
10-12
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
25
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Unless you count the 10 eggs of course. And if the chocolate element isn’t indulgent enough, consider the filling of nut butter and whipped cream. There are many lovely nut butters out there, but my favourite for this would have to be macadamia butter, to really push us over the edge! Luckily, life always seems to offer up plenty of reasons to celebrate.
Ingredients
- 350 g good-quality dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into pieces
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp raw honey
- 10 free-range eggs, at room temperature, separated
- pinch of sea salt flakes
- organic fresh rose petals, to decorate (optional)
Nut cream
- 200 ml whipping cream
- ½ cup mint leaves, finely chopped
- 100 g pure nut butter
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 150°C fan-forced. Grease and line 2 x 20 cm spring form tins.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of just-simmering water (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Remove from the heat, stir in the honey and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until thick and pale. Slowly whisk in the chocolate mixture until just combined. Fold in one third of the egg whites, then ever so lightly, fold in the remaining whisked whites. (It is important to work quickly and not let the chocolate butter mixture get cold or it will set.)
Divide the batter between the prepared tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer withdraws clean. Remove from the oven and stand on a wire rack until completely cooled.
To make the nut cream, beat the cream in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, combine the mint, nut butter and a small amount of the whipped cream. Gently fold in the remaining cream.
To assemble, place one of the cakes on a serving plate and spread half the nut cream over the top, leaving a 2 cm border. Place the remaining cake on top and spread with the remaining cream. Scatter with rose petals, if using.
Note
• The good news is that dark chocolate is rich in polyphenol antioxidants, particularly catechins and procyanidins, and these have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that are good for your blood vessels. Chocolate also provides some iron, manganese and magnesium.
Recipe from by Maggie Beer with Professor Ralph Martins (Simon & Schuster Australia, pb, $39.99). Photography © Dragan Radocaj. Read our chat with Maggie about eating for better brain health
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Unless you count the 10 eggs of course. And if the chocolate element isn’t indulgent enough, consider the filling of nut butter and whipped cream. There are many lovely nut butters out there, but my favourite for this would have to be macadamia butter, to really push us over the edge! Luckily, life always seems to offer up plenty of reasons to celebrate.
