RUM CHOCOLATE CAKE W/ TOASTED MERINGUE
Ingredients for a 3-layered cake of 16 cm base diameter
RUM CHOCOLATE CAKE
460 g all purpose flour
70 g cocoa powder
26 g baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
380 ml rice or oat milk
120 ml sunflower oil
150 g brown sugar
95 g dark chocolate, melted
4 tablespoons of good quality black rum liquor
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE (for the layers)
500 g dark chocolate
300 ml plant-based heavy cream (soya or rice)
TOASTED MERINGUE
4 locally farmed eggs
2 teaspoons lemon juice
180 g white sugar
PREPARATION
Start with the chocolate mousse as it has to rest for at least 4 hours before use. In ‘bain-marie’ and on low fire, melt the chocolate and gradually add the heavy cream. Make sure that the heavy cream is at room temperature. Blend gently until you get an homogenous mix. Let it sit for 4 hours at room temperature. After this time, beat the chocolate/heavy cream mix with a handmixer for at least 5-10 minutes until it turns slightly fluffy and transfer it in an icing bag with a round tip of approximately 1 cm diameter. Set aside for later use.
Preheat the oven at 170°C.
In a mixing bowl, sieve the flour, cocoa & baking powder. Add the salt and mix well. In a second bowl, combine the brown sugar with the plant-based milk, sunflower oil, rum, and stir well – using a whisk. Gradually add the mix of dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder & salt) to the wet ingredients and mix well – using a spatula – until all ingredients are well combined. Add the melted chocolate. Equally divide the dough in 3 spring forms of 16 cm diameter - that you have previously greased with some baking spray or plant-based fat. Bake in preheated oven at 170°C for 25-30 minutes until the cakes are properly baked. You can use the toothpick-test to check if your cakes are ready. If you dip a toothpick in the centre of the cake and the toothpick comes out clean then the cake is done. If it comes out with pieces of wet unbaked dough, then you need to bake the cake for a couple more minutes. When ready remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.
When the cake layers are completely cool, cut their tops if necessary to make them even and start building the final cake. Select a surface/cake stand of your preference, place the first cake layer and add - with circular movements - some of the chocolate mousse you have prepared in the icing bag. Continue with the next cake layer and add on top of it another layer of chocolate mousse. Finish with the last cake layer, placing it bottom-up so that your final cake has an even top. Refrigerate for at least an hour until the layers are set and the meringue is ready.
TOASTED MERINGUE
Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Use refrigerated eggs for an easier separation and then let the egg whites sit at room temperature from about 15 minutes. In a mixing bowl - preferably glass or inox - combine the egg whites with the lemon juice and sugar. In ‘bain-marie’ and above low fire, slowly warm up the egg-lemon juice-sugar mix until the sugar is well dissolved. Then remove from fire and beat the mix for at least 5-10 minutes - using a handmixer - until it turns glossy white & stiff peaks are formed.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and cover it with the meringue. Lastly, slightly burn the tips of the meringue to create a toasted effect - using a kitchen torch.
Enjoy x AM
STYLING
Handmade Ceramic tableware: Imre Bergmann
Handworked Marble tabletop: De Marmerman
Hand-turned wooden cake stand: The Endeavorist
Handmade knife: Ting Shop Berlin