Strong Chocolate Cake

BY AURÉLIEN RIVOIRE

Makes three cakes for six people

CHEF's TIP: The chocolate crémeux must be at room temperature before being added to the cake.

Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS
75 g 70% dark couverture chocolate
225 g butter
375 g whole eggs
115 g invert sugar
195 g caster sugar
115 g ground almond
35 g cocoa powder
180 g T45 flour
12 g baking powder
180 g 35% fat liquid cream
75 g amber rum
60 g soft butter (for the piping bag)

METHOD:
Melt the chocolate using a bain-marie. At the same time, in a saucepan, melt over very low heat.
In a bowl, mix the eggs with the invert sugar and caster sugar.
Add the ground almond, cocoa powder, flour and baking powder, sifted together.
Pour in the cream and melted butter, mix, then add the rum and melted chocolate.
Pour 400 g of the mixture into a buttered 15 cm cake mold lined with baking paper.
Fill a piping bag with soft butter to make a line running along the length of the cake.
Bake the cake for 35 minutes at 180°C in a preheated convection oven.
Unmold as soon as it is removed from the oven and leave to cool.

Chocolate almond coating

INGREDIENTS
300 g 66% dark couverture chocolate
150 g chopped almonds
150 g cocoa butter

METHOD:
Melt all of the ingredients together using a bain-marie.

Chocolate CRÉMEUX

INGREDIENTS
375 g whole milk
375 g 35% fat liquid cream
150 g egg yolks
75 g caster sugar
355 g 64% dark couverture chocolate

METHOD:
Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan.
Whiten the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl, then pour the boiling milk over them.
Return to a saucepan and cook at 82°C.
Pour the hot custard over the chocolate in three batches.
Blend the chocolate cream and leave to cool.

finish and presentation

INGREDIENTS
600 g 70% dark couverture chocolate

METHOD:
Temper the chocolate and spread thinly on a work surface.
Scrape with a spatula to make shavings.
Once the cake has cooled, dip the lower part in the chocolate-almond coating at 30°C. Leave to set on a sheet of baking paper.
Decorate the top of the cake using a piping bag with a Saint-Honoré nozzle filled with chocolate crémeux.
Pipe a wave along the length of the cake and decorate generously with chocolate shavings.