An alternative to
Christmas pudding is this luxurious and truly decadent dessert. It is so rich that
it will serve at least 12 to 15 people, as you really cannot manage more than a
small slice. We have to confess that we veered away from this recipe because
Lynne has been hoarding slabs of Lindt 85% and 90% dark chocolate to make a
dessert like this for John’s birthday this week. And she used salted butter; we
think a little salt with dark chocolate makes it taste better. If you are using
85 or 90% chocolate do taste the molten chocolate mix and if it is not sweet
enough, add a spoonful or two more of caster sugar to the mix, stirring well.
It should not be bitter, but also not too sweet
Below is the classic
recipe for you to try. Lynne used a loose bottomed cake tin; it is easier to
get the ‘cake’ out when it is set. Make sure you seal it well. You will need to
use an electric beater for this recipe or your arm might tire when whipping the
eggs
340g 70% Dark
bitter chocolate – 225g unsalted butter – 5 organic eggs – 210g caster sugar
You will need a 25 cm cake
tin. Grease it with extra butter and line the base with parchment paper. Break
the chocolate into pieces and melt it with the butter in a bowl over a pot of
simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Alternatively, pulse it
in the microwave at 30 second bursts, stirring between each one. Beat the whole
eggs with a mixer or hand mixer with 70g of the sugar. Beat until the volume of
the eggs quadruples; you want them light and fluffy
At the same time, heat the
rest of the sugar with 100ml of water until dissolved to a light syrup. Then
pour this syrup into the melted chocolate and mix well. Allow it to cool
slightly
Turn your oven on to 125°C (it works
very well if you have a convection oven as the temperature will be constant)
Add the chocolate mix to
the eggs, beating slowly until it is combined properly. Pour into the tin and
put the tin into an ovenproof dish a few inches larger than the cake tin. It
might help to put a folded tea towel underneath the tin to keep it in place. Put
it into the oven and then fill up the bain marie with hot water, so that it
comes three quarters of the way up the sides of the tin
Bake in the oven for 50
minutes until set and make sure to leave the cake in the bain marie to cool. Then
refrigerate and when you are ready to use it, very carefully turn it out face
down onto a suitable dish, and slowly remove the lining paper. Decorate with
fresh berries or some edible Christmas decorations. See the 2 pictures
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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