Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 350 g dark couverture
• 350 g butter
• 1 pinch salt
• 7 eggs
• 200 g sugar
• butter (for the pan)
• bread crumbs (for the pan)
• 250 g bittersweet chocolate
• 250 g whipping cream
• 6 tbsp brandy
• 1 tbsp butter
• powdered sugar
• 100 g bittersweet couverture
• 100 g chocolate glaze

Instructions

1. 1.

   Line the pans with parchment paper, lightly grease them and dust with breadcrumbs.

2. 2.

   Melt the couverture with butter and a pinch of salt in a double boiler.

3. 3.

   Separate the eggs; beat the yolks with 2/3 of the sugar until fluffy.

4. 4.

   Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form.

5. 5.

   Fold the chocolate mixture and the meringue carefully into the yolk batter.

6. 6.

   Divide the dough between the pans. Bake larger cakes at 150°C for about 45 minutes, smaller ones for about 35 minutes (if baked sequentially, keep the remaining dough cool).

7. 7.

   Let the finished cakes cool completely.

8. 8.

   The bases rise high but then collapse and become firm.

9. 9.

   Melt chopped couverture in hot cream while stirring; add brandy, butter and 1–2 tbsp powdered sugar. Set aside half of the mixture cold, keep the rest warm in a double boiler.

10. 10.

    Place a large cake base on parchment, beat the cold chocolate mass with an electric mixer until airy, spread three‑quarters over the lower base, then place the second large base on top and coat it with chocolate.

11. 11.

    Set the small bases on parchment, quickly spread them with chocolate, chill for about 30 minutes, then cover both cakes with liquid chocolate, let set, and stack on a cake plate.

12. 12.

    For decoration melt couverture and glaze together; brush the edges of the cake with this mixture, create chocolate leaves and arrange them decoratively over the cake. (Chocolate leaves: make sturdy sheets with pronounced ridges and a stem, brush the underside repeatedly with liquid chocolate until firm, then gently lift from the sheet by its stem.)