For the Base:
6 eggs
100g raw cane sugar
150g unsalted butter
260g of Rio Caribe 72% couverture dark chocolate, nutty coffee notes
100g ground almonds
24 Fabri Amarena cherries in syrup
2 tablespoons of Rum or Cognac, I use Somerset Cider apple Brandy
For the ganache top:
400ml double cream
40g raw cane sugar
130g Rio Caribe 72% couverture dark chocolate, nutty coffee notes
Equipment:
You will need 8 x 8cm round stainless steel moulds or cake cutters
Baking paper
To make The Cloud Forest Cake base:
- Beat 6 whole eggs with 175g sugar until doubled in size. Melt the butter with the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Gently fold half the egg mixture into the chocolate, then fold in the other half Mix in 100g of ground almonds, and spread on baking tray so that once risen and fallen back the height is just less than 1cm.
- Bake in a tray for 7 minutes at 180 degrees. Take 2 tablespoons of the syrup that the Amarena cherries came in, and add 2 tablespoons of brandy. While the cake is still hot, make holes in the base with a fork, and pour over the cherry brandy syrup. Cut 8cm diameter circles out of the sheet of cake and leave the cutters/moulds on the cake.
To make the ganache top:
- Gently heat the cream in a thick bottomed sauce pan When hot but not bubbling, put in the chocolate and the sugar and stir until fully dissolved. Cut strips of baking paper to line the inside of the top of each mould. Pour the ganache over the bases, until it is 2cm deep.
- Push in 3 cherries into the ganache, so they are just poking out of the top Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until set and cool. Take out of the fridge, and push the desserts up out of their moulds and peel off the baking paper. Serve with cream.
