Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
500 ml Milk
75 ml Lemon Juice
15 ml Vanilla Essence
100 ml Instant Coffee Powder
180 ml Cocoa Powder
375 ml Hot Water
1,1 litre Sugar
470 g Margarine
8 ea. Large Eggs
1,4 litre All Purpose Flour
12,5 ml Baking Powder
15 ml Bicarbonate of Soda
7,5 ml Salt
10 ml Coffee Essence
Cheesecake crust
30 ml White Sugar
350 ml Chocolate Biscuit
65 g Unsalted Butter
Filling
460 g Cream Cheese
190 g Dark Chocolate 70%
10 ml All Purpose Flour
1 pinch salt
210 ml White Sugar
10 ml Vanilla Essence
Coffee ganache
230 ml Cream
170 g Dark Chocolate
15 ml Instant Coffee Powder
15 ml White Sugar
Buttercream
342 g Dark Chocolate
375 ml White Sugar
180 ml Water
6 ea. Large Egg Whites
1 pinch salt
342 g Unsalted Butter (cubed)
15 ml Vanilla Extract
Candied hazelnuts
250 g Whole hazelnuts
250 ml White sugar
60 ml Water
15 each tooth picks
1 each Sheet Baking Paper
500 ml Ice cold water/ ice
Hazelnut truffles
Filling
1 kg Dark Chocolate 70%
180 ml Hazelnut spread
250 ml Cream
Coating
375 ml Finely chopped Hazelnuts
100 ml Cocoa Powder
Caramel Graffiti Border
625 ml White Sugar
250 ml Water
250 ml Glucose syrup
2,5 ml Vanilla essence
1 ea. Baking Paper
Chocolate Bomb
250 g Dark Chocolate
1 ea. Dome mould
1 ea. Baking Paper
1 ea. Soft paintbrush
Method
Chocolate Cake
Preheat oven to 200 C. Combine milk & lemon juice, stand for 20 minutes until curdled.
Mix hot water, cocoa, coffee and coffee essence, allow to cool. In large bowl cream together margarine and sugar until mixed.
Add eggs (one at a time) into creamed butter until light and fluffy. Add cooled chocolate mixture. Sift together flour, salt, bicarbonate, baking powder.
Mix into egg mixture, beat until fully incorporated. Add milk mixture until well combined. Spray 3x 6” and 3x 10” cake tins with Spray and Cook.
Pour into greased tins ¾ full. Bake for 50 -60 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
Cheesecake Crust
Preheat oven to 180 C. Mix sugar, butter and biscuit crumbs together. Line 8” spring form pan base and sides with baking paper.
Grease pan with Spray oil. Press crumbs into base, bake 9-12 minutes, until slightly darkened. Let crust cool.
Filling
Decrease heat to 150 C. Combine cream cheese, chocolate, flour and salt.
Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, scrape sides throughout. Make sure mixture is smooth and fluffy (no lumps).
Add sugar, blend well , add vanilla, beat for another 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, gently mix.
Do not over beat otherwise top will crack. Pour filling over cooled crust and smooth out.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, it should still jiggle a little when shaken. Set on rack to cool.
Coffee ganache
Heat cream, sugar and coffee until sugar is dissolved. Add in chocolate and stir until smooth.
Pour ganache over cooled cheesecake, set in fridge to cool.
When ready to assemble, loosen pan and remove baking paper.
Buttercream
Slowly melt chocolate in microwave until almost fully melted. Remove and continue mixing until smooth, let cool.
Wipe out mixer bowl to ensure it is clean, whisk attachment. Combine egg whites and salt, keep 30ml sugar aside
Combine remaining sugar and water in small saucepan.
Place over high heat and close lid, allow to boil, swirling pan.
Once sugar mix is boiling remove lid and test with thermometer. When sugar reached 110C start beating egg whites in mixer
When eggs are foamy, add sugar, continue to whip until stiff (30 sec).
When sugar is between 115-118 C remove from heat immediately.
Pour thin stream of syrup into egg whites whilst beating on high. Try not to get any syrup on sides of bowl
Mixture will become meringue like – white, glossy, triple in size.
Ensure the meringue is room temperature (must not be warm). Add butter one cube at a time, whilst still beating on high.
Mixture will curdle but continue to beat for another 5 minutes. When smooth, add vanilla and continue whipping for 3 minutes
When choc is no longer warm but still fluid, fold into meringue. Beat for another 2 minutes until fully combined
Candied hazelnuts
Pierce sides of hazelnuts each with a tooth stick to prepare. Place baking paper on the floor below work station
Place cutting board on counter ready to use. Place sugar and water in small pot over medium-high heat
Stir to combine, wash down sides with pastry brush and water. Continue to cook until caramel turns darker- do not stir
Put pot in ice cold water to stop cooking. Let caramel stand for 1 min. Dip hazelnuts into caramel to test if thick enough
If it makes strands it is ready to use, if not let stand longer. Dip each hazelnut in caramel, prop between counter and cutting board.
Should form long caramel strands, carefully remove tooth pick sticks .
Set aside on baking paper.
Hazelnut truffles
Filling
Melt chocolate, cream in microwave until smooth and let it cool.
Mix hazelnut spread into chocolate mix, cover with Cling Wrap. Place in fridge for 60 mins, shape into balls, freeze for 15 mins.
Coating
Roast nuts. When truffle balls are ready, dip in coating mixture, half in nuts, half in cocoa.
Place truffles on baking sheet lined with baking paper. Place back into fridge for 15 minutes
Caramel Graffiti Border
Measure circumference and height of bottom tier (tier 3). Mark this on Baking paper (must be higher than cake)
Have a cup of water with a spoon ready. Melt water, glucose and sugar in medium heavy-based pot.
Swirl pot rather than stir, when melted bring up heat to boil. Cook sugar for 10-15 minutes.
Test readiness by inserting spoon into caramel then dipping in water.
When it turns rock hard it is ready. Remove from heat, let it rest for about 1 minutes.
With a spoon drizzle long band of squiggles on baking paper. It is wise to make two panels for if one breaks.
Let the panels rest a bit to cool but must still be pliable to use. Remove panel from baking paper and stick around cake.
Chocolate Bomb
Over a double boiler melt 2/3 of chocolate. Remove form double boiler and add the remaining 1/3 in.
Stir until it is smooth and fully melted. Paint chocolate into the cavity of the mould until fully covered
Neaten edges with flat part of knife, let it set for 10 minutes. Carefully remove spheres from mould.
Fill one half of sphere with nuts and truffles. Bring a pan to low heat on the stove.
Apply second ½ of sphere face down to heat it slightly (5-10 seconds). Bring two spheres together to form a chocolate ball
Place aside for later. Have warm caramel syrup on the side to use to pour over bomb.
Assemble
Even out cake layers, ice with chocolate meringue buttercream. Stack cakes (use dowel to secure) on cake board
Tier 1 and 3 will be chocolate cake with meringue buttercream. Tier 2 is a chocolate cheesecake
Place chocolate bomb on top. Cut truffles in half and attach to top tier sides.
Use candied hazelnuts for decoration on top tier and second tier. Attach caramel graffiti border to bottom tier (3)
Pack whole truffles around the bottom tier to round cake off.