For Valentine’s Day I will treat you with a very special recipe from Le Cordon Bleu. The Chocolate Heart is taken from their cook book: The Chocolate Bible.
The Chocolate Bible contains 170 recipes clearly described in several sections of the book with step-by-step photos. The recipes are dedicated to chocolate desserts in all forms: cakes, tarts, creams and mousses, iced desserts and drinks, snacks and cookies, and chocolate confectionary.
But let’s get down to work.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (355ºF). Butter and dust with flour a heart-shaped cake tin (or a 24 cm round cake tin).
Ingredients
- Chocolate Cake
- 140 g butter
- 225 g dark chocolate, chopped
- 4 egg yolks
- 150 g sugar
- 4 egg whites
- 50 g flour, sifted
Ganache
- 250 g dark chocolate
- 250 ml whipping cream
Decoration
- Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries
Directions (Chocolate Cake)
- Melt the chocolate and the unsalted butter over a bain-marie; stir until smooth.
- Beat the egg yolks and 75 g of the sugar until they are pale and thick.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites, gradually adding the remaining sugar until they are smooth, shiny and stiff peaks form.
- Fold the sifted flour into the egg yolks-sugar mixture and combine with the melted chocolate-butter mixture.
- Whisk 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it; carefully fold in the remainder in two separate batches.
- Rest the batter for 5 minutes before pouring it into the prepared cake tin.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Cool on a rack before turning the cake out; refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Directions (Ganache)
- Coarsely chop the chocolate and place in a bowl.
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering and pour over the chocolate; stir until smooth.
- Set the ganache aside for about 10 minutes at room temperature, until it can be spread easily.
- When the chocolate cake is cold and fairly hard, cut a thin slice from the top to level it; use a long serrated knife and cut in a sawing motion. Spread the ganache evenly over the entire surface of the cake.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm. Decorate with berries.
CHEF’S TIP:
The cake can be kept refrigerated for 2-3 days. It can also be served with crème anglaise or whipped cream.
