This Chocolate truffle cake is perfect for Easter and the extra long Easter weekend is the perfect time to do a spot of baking or cooking just for the fun, so I thought I would post this recipe a day earlier than usual in case you want to give it a go this weekend. You can't have too much chocolate at this time of year - Right?
Chocolate truffle cake is a little more involved then usual and has several stages to it: the cake, the truffle filling, and the icing. However, none of the stages are difficult, so it still falls well within the remit of Recipes Made Easy. The end result is a great centre piece for your table.
Handy Hints
Use a loose bottomed or spring clip cake tin for this recipe - it makes it easier to remove and reassemble in the tin.
Most cakes dome in the centre when you bake them, but you can minimise this by making a dip in the centre of the uncooked mixture before baking. If you want a completely flat cake, like mine is in the pictures, trim the top of the cake level with a sharp knife before cutting it into the two layers. Save the crumbs to use later, or just nibble on them as you go along as a cooks perk! Place the trimmed top of the cake upside down back into the cake tin, then line the edge of the tin with a strip of baking parchment.
If you don't mind a domed cake (I still think it would look great) place the bottom layer of the cake into the tin first.
Take care not to over heat the chocolate when melting it by placing the bowl over a pan of hot (not boiling water) and making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Add the cream a little at a time. If you add it all at once the cold cream may cause the chocolate to set before it is fully combined with the cream.
Step by step finishing the chocolate truffle cake
Perfect for summer too
I developed this cake for Easter ands decorated it with small white chocolate Easter eggs. However, it would be a shame to keep such a good cake for Easter only and it can easily be adapted to a perfect summer time cake by decorating with rosettes of fresh cream and fresh strawberries, cherries, or raspberries.
Chocolate truffle cake
Ingredients
for the cake
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 75 ml boiling water
- 225 g butter, softened
- 225 g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 275 g self-raising flour
- 4 tablespoon orange flavoured liqueur such as cointreau or grand mariner optional
for the white and dark chocolate ganache
- 100 g white chocolate, broken into pieces
- 200 g plain (dark) chocolate, broken into pieces
- 600 ml double cream
to complete the cake
- 300 g milk chocolate
- 100 g butter
- mini white chocolate easter eggs or
- berries and whipped cream to decorate
Instructions
To make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 180℃/170℃ fan/gas mark 4. Lightly oil and line the base of a 23cm springform cake tin
- Place the cocoa powder in a small bowl and slowly add the boiling water, mixing until smooth.
- Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Then add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract.
- Add the cocoa powder mixture and mix well, then gently fold in the flour.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top then make a slight dip in the centre. Bake for about 45 minutes until the the cake spring backs when lightly pressed. You can also test with a skewer which should come out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then loosen the edge with blunt knife and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wash and dry the cake tin and line the edge with baking parchment.
- When the cake is completely cold, use a sharp serrated knife to level the top of the cake if necessary and cut into two equal layers. Place one layer back into the tin. Sprinkle with orange liqueur if using.
To make the white and dark chocolate ganache
- Melt the white and plain chocolate in separate bowls over a pan of hot water and allow to cool slightly.
- Whip the cream until standing in soft peaks, fold half of the cream a little at a time into the white chocolate until just blended.
- Next fold the remaining cream a little at a time into the plain chocolate.
- Spread half of the white chocolate mixture over the cake in the pan. Then top with the plain chocolate cream and a final layer of white chocolate cream. Top with the remaining cake layer pressing down gently to make sure it comes completely in contact with the cream. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To complete the cake
- Carefully remove the cake from the tin and transfer to a serving plate. Make the chocolate topping, place the butter and chocolate in a bowl and heat over a pan of hot water, stirring until melted and combined.
- Allow to cool slightly then spread over the top and sides of the cake with a palette knife. Swirl the icing to give a wavy effect. Decorate with mini white chocolate easter eggs and allow to set.
- Alternatively allow the icing to set then pipe rosettes of cream on top of the cake and decorate with berries.
Notes
Freeze: Undecorated for up to 3 months. Defrost fully before covering with the chocolate icing. Nutrition information is approximate and is meant as a guideline only.
Flo says
Thanks for detail instructions and accompanying pictures.