Alright, The holiday period is now over, all the ornaments have been packed away, thank you cards have been written (they have, right?) you deserve a special dessert and here it is. If you love chocolate and who doesn’t, this is just for you.
It is three steps and each one is a ‘make ahead’. You can make each step, place them in the fridge and they are ready to put together when you are ready to serve. No fuss at all. Oh, yes, the strain of it all. You should whip some cream up. Here goes.
Cake
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup of flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla
- 2 tbsp. melted butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To get the best volume when whipping eggs right out of the fridge, place the eggs (not yet cracked) in a bowl of warm water and cover. Mix together the flour, cocoa and salt. In an elelctric mixer beat the eggs and add the sugar, beating until very pale, four times the volume and will run off the beaters in a ribbon. Now beat in the vanilla. Slowly FOLD in one half of the flour until combined.
Now gently FOLD in the remaining flour. FOLD in the butter and pour into a prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and place on a rack to completely cool.
Custard
- 3 cups milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- 3 egg yolks
- 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
- 1 1/2 tsp, pure vanilla
Heat the milk and half the sugar until steaming. In small bowl whisk remaining sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks until well blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 10-12 minutes until slightly thickened and bubbles just rise to the surface. Remove from heat and strain through a sieve into a clean bowl over the chocolate. Add vanilla and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill completely.
Berries
- 4 cups of frozen mixed berries or fresh (if in summer)
- 1/2 cup framboise, or any fruit liqueur
- Bittersweet chocolate shavings for garnish
Place berries in a bowl and combine with the liqueur. Let stand, stirring occasionally until the berries are ‘melted’ and well flavoured with the liqueur. If large berries remain, cut up into smaller pieces.
In a pretty wine glass, put pieces of cake into glass, spoon 1 tbsp. of berries with juice on top of the cake. Spoon a generous tbsp. of custard over the berries and repeat each layer until the wine glass is full. Cover and chill these for at least 8 hours. When ready to serve, put a dollop of whipped cream on top and sprinkle chocolate shavings on top.
Now, isn’t this the best way to pamper and be pampered? You bet it is. Yummy, I can taste it now. Let me see….yup I need pampering. Later.
Taste Rating: 8.9
