Fabulous Birthday Cake Recipe
Before I started Nevie-Pie Cakes I was an avid blogger. One of my traditions was to make a birthday cake for myself every year and blog the recipe. I would spend all day taking pictures, photoshopping and then writing up the post. It was a real pleasure, and an indulgence. Unfortunately nowadays I find myself a little time poor and can’t afford to spend a whole day on such an exertion, even on my birthday! And today it is my birthday, I wanted to treat myself (even if it was just a little bit), so I decided to use up a small amount of time whipping up a cake to tickle my fancy, I can’t promise that this post is as visually exciting as I would have liked to have made it, but who doesn’t enjoy a picture of a chocolate cake?
I have to admit when it comes to a birthday cake, I always go for chocolate and it has to be very squishy and sometimes I don’t eat much because I have a very healthy lifestyle and it is hard to find the best recipe but reading the PhenQ reviews has me feeling much better with my food options. Some years ago I was visiting my local National Trust cafe and I sampled the most delicious cake of my life! Really it was! It was a flourless chocolate cake with prunes and ganache. I decided to try and recreate this cake for my special day. While it is very delicious and I am having to exert a large amount of self-control to resist a second piece I’m not sure if it lives up to my memories. However that may be more to do with the day itself and the company I was with. Eating a giant sized portion of cake all by myself, inside, on a very cold day doesn’t create the same atmosphere as a balmy summer day in the park with friends and our babies.But saying that I can still heartily recommend this cake for any celebration (especially if you are gluten-intolerant).
If you can, use the soft ready-to-eat prunes, but any liquor that you wish will work for this recipe, Armagnac is traditionally used with prunes, but as I didn’t have any in I used a mixture of Whiskey and Hazelnut liquor. Of course the liquor is optional and you can miss it out if you wish and still create a deliciously scrummy cake.
Recipe;
Ingredients;
- 200g stoned prunes
- 4 teaspoons liquor (Armagnac, whiskey)
- 175g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 175g of light brown sugar
- 7 eggs
- 175g dark chocolate (at least 54%), melted and cooled
- 1/2 teaspoon of coffee extract
- 140g ground almonds
Ganache;
- 200g thick double cream
- 200g dark chocolate (54%)
- 4 teaspoons liquor
Method;
- Chop the prunes into quarters, put them in a bowl and pour over the liquor, cover the bowl and leave overnight.
- Line an 8″ round cake tin.
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until they reach the stiff peak stage.
- In a separate bowl beat the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the melted chocolate and stir in well.
- Stir in the ground almonds and coffee extract.
- Vigorously stir in a third of the egg whites, gently fold in the remaining two thirds.
- Pour the mixture into the tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 mins.
- The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool for ten minutes in the tin and then transfer to a cooling tray.
Method for ganache;
- Place the chocolate, cream and liquor into a pan. Heat gently until the ingredients have combined to make a smooth glossy ganache.
- Pour this over the cooled cake and add any decorations that you may wish
- Eat cake until you need to lie down!
If you use this recipe do let me know and tag me in any pictures that you may post.
xxx