I post this cake every so often, seems I never tire of making (and eating) it. It’s the Bittersweet Cocoa-Almond Genoise from the Cake Bible, which Rose adapted from Maida Heatter’s Queen Mother’s Cake.
This time I wanted to highlight a particularly happy combination of dark mocha ganache with the cocoa, toasted almond and butter flavors of the cake. This ganache is good in that it doesn’t overpower the cake and isn’t too sweet, which is the problem with the vast majority of potential toppings (except for whipped cream). The ganache is a little soft and needs at least 12 hours to set, but it had to be that way in order for the flavors to be the right match for the cake.
Here are the ganache particulars, the portion is only just enough for the presentation in the photo (I think I had about a tablespoon of ganache left in the piping bag). Basically, it is Rose’s dark ganache made with 52% chocolate, extra butter and espresso subbed for part of the cream. The extra butter and the relatively low 52% chocolate help keep the ganache from overpowering the cake.
100g 85% chocolate (preferably Green & Black’s so it has plenty of cocoa butter and isn’t overly intense)
64g sugar
(or you can use 164g of 52% dark chocolate, such as Callebaut, and omit the sugar)
164g heavy cream
3 Tblspn butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tblspn brewed espresso (I use Illy made in a bialetti stove top maker)
It’s made in the usual way, process the chocolate in the FP until fine, dissolve the sugar in boiling cream and add to the running FP. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the rest of the ingredients, allow to set undisturbed for 12-24 hrs.
Sorry the slice photo is so blurry, maybe one of these days I’ll start using something other than non-HD video to take close-ups! I still included it to try and give some idea of the texture of the cake- dense like most flourless cakes, yet with a discernible crumb that makes it seem more cake-like than the ones that are more like fudge or custard.
