Chocolate Simnel Cake
Baking and Desserts • European
Description
Chocolate Simnel Cake
Ingredients
- Sugar 5 oz
- Liquid dark chocolate 10 oz
- Butter 5 oz
- Farm fresh eggs 4 pieces
- Ground Almonds 5 oz
- Baking Powder 0 oz
- Apricot Jam 4 tablespoons
- Almond ¼ teaspoon
- Cream 5 fl oz
- Orange zest 1 piece
- White Chocolate 5 oz
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a deep round cake pan with a diameter of 18 cm with butter. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
Step 2
Melt 100 g of dark chocolate in a water bath.
Step 3
Cream the butter with 100 g of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time to the butter-sugar mixture. Stir in 50 g of almonds and the melted chocolate.
Step 4
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold in a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, and sift in a quarter of the flour. Repeat this process three more times until all the egg whites and flour are incorporated.
Step 5
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, remove the paper, and let it cool completely.
Step 6
Prepare the marzipan paste – in a bowl, mix granulated sugar and ground almonds, then sift in the powdered sugar. Mix well, add the almond extract and the egg, and knead into a stiff paste on a surface dusted with powdered sugar. Take a quarter of the paste and divide it into 12 pieces. Add one piece to the main mass, and shape the remaining 11 pieces into balls, leaving them on a plate to dry. Roll out the remaining mass into a circle the same size as the cake, trimming the edges using the pan as a template.
Step 7
In a saucepan, heat the jam with 2 tablespoons of water, then strain it through a sieve into a separate bowl. Cut the cake horizontally into two layers, place one layer on a serving plate, top with the marzipan circle, and spread with jam. Cover with the second layer. Spread jam over the top and sides of the cake.
Step 8
Prepare the cream – place the chocolate and cream in a bowl, melt in the microwave on medium power for 1-2 minutes, and mix well. Cool and refrigerate for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reaches the desired thickness. Use a wide knife to spread the cream over the sides and top of the cake.
Step 9
In a separate bowl, melt the white chocolate (as mentioned above), skewer a marzipan ball on a wooden toothpick, dip it in the chocolate, let the excess drip off, turn it over, and insert the toothpick into an orange or apple placed on the neck of a jar or glass. Repeat with all marzipan balls and let them dry.
Step 10
Melt the dark chocolate. Drizzle the marzipan balls coated in white chocolate with the melted dark chocolate using a thin stream (from a coffee or tea spoon). Let them dry.
Step 11
Reheat the remaining chocolate in the microwave and use it to attach the glazed marzipan balls to the surface of the cake.
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