For the love of chocolate!

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.

We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

This is my second Daring Bakers’ challenge, and an exciting one for someone with a sweet tooth (though also, unfortunately, one requiring major self-control, due to the ongoing diet!!).

I made a rich, dark chocolate and mint valentine, and paired it with a low-fat chocolate and mint ‘ice-cream’ made from evaporated milk – tasty, and also simple (also meant I could actually eat it, which was a bonus!).

It was delicious. I decided that, given the simple pared-down ingredients, I should buy ‘the best’, and so combined some beautiful organic eggs (with fabulously intensely yellow yolks) with some great quality chocolate. I used about 2/3rds dark mint chocolate, and 1/3rd milk chocolate. The resulting flavour was dark and minty, and just sweet enough for grown-ups (I would definitely use a higher proportion of milk chocolate if I was making it for kids).

I cut most of it into little squares and took them to work – all 30-odd of them had gone in half an hour!

In all, I found this recipe very simple to follow – by turning the oven down slightly shy of the temperature, and keeping a close eye on it, I managed to avoid any texture problems.

I will, most definitely, be making it again.

Beautiful organic eggs from posh hens.

Lovely, rich melted chocolate and butter.

Cooked in its tin - didn't seem to sink!

Chocolate Valentino, inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. Recipe comes from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan.

hocolate Valentino

Preparation Time:  20 minutes

454 grams of chocolate, roughly chopped

145 grams of unsalted butter

5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling, butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.

4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry). 

5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. 

8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 190C

9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 60C. 

Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.