Chocolate Cake Slice with Vanilla Cream

Ingredients

• 200 g whole milk couverture
• 200 g butter
• 4 eggs
• 200 g sugar
• 100 g flour
• 100 g pecans (coarsely chopped)
• 50 g dried apricots (chopped)
• butter (for the pan)
• flour (for the pan)
• 75 g dark chocolate couverture
• 0.25 l milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 packet Bourbon vanilla sugar
• 1 tbsp flour
• a pinch of salt
• 250 g dark chocolate couverture
• 300 ml whipping cream
• 60 g Butter
• 40 g couverture
• 2 Tbsp whipping cream

Instructions

1. 1.

   For the cream, chop the couverture and simmer with milk while stirring; remove from heat. Beat egg yolks with sugar until creamy, then fold in flour. Slowly whisk warm milk into the yolk mixture, return to pot, and cook over low flame until thickened, but do not boil. Pour chocolate cream into a bowl, stir occasionally to cool without forming skin.

2. 2.

   For the ganache, chop chocolate. Bring cream to a boil and pour it in a thin stream over chocolate while constantly stirring. Gradually add butter pieces, stirring intermittently, until at room temperature.

3. 3.

   Preheat oven to 210°C. Grease a baking pan and dust with flour.

4. 4.

   Melt chocolate over a double boiler, remove from heat, and fold in cold butter pieces until creamy.

5. 5.

   Separate eggs. Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form; beat yolks with sugar until pale and fluffy. Gently fold into the cooled chocolate-butter mixture. Add apricots and nuts, then fold in the beaten whites. Sift flour over the batter and fold gently.

6. 6.

   Transfer batter to pan and bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes. Let cool, then unmold. Spread cream over cake, smooth, and pour ganache. Melt white chocolate with cream; drizzle or pipe decorations as desired. Allow to set before serving with vanilla sauce if desired.