3 oz Chocolate, semi-sweet, Cocoa, unsweetened
— melted Chocolate leaves * (opt)
3 oz Chocolate, white, melted — (garnish)
CHOCOLATE CAKE
9 lg Eggs, separated, room temp. 6 tb Butter, unsalted, melted
1 tb Rum, dark 3 tb Cornstarch
1/4 ts Extract, vanilla 2 tb Cocoa, unsweetened
1/4 ts Cream of Tartar 2 1/2 oz Amaretti (about 10 Italian
8 tb Sugar — macaroons), finely
12 oz Chocolate, semi-sweet, — ground
— melted
CHOCOLATE CREAM
4 oz Chocolate, semi-sweet, 2 c Cream, whipping
— melted 2 tb Rum, dark
1/2 c Water, hot
* For chocolate leaves, brush melted chocolate on undersides of
holly or lemon leaves; refrigerate until firm, carefully peel off
leaves.
For Cake:
=========
Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans.
Beat yolks until they are pale yellow and form a ribbon when
beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes. Beat in rum and vanilla.
Beat whites with cream of tartar to soft peaks. Add sugar 1
tablespoon at a time and continue beating until stiff and shiny.
Stir 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate and butter into yolks until
well combined. Gently fold in 1/4 of egg whites to lighten the
batter, then gently fold in the remaining whites.
Sift together cornstarch and cocoa; combine with ground amaretti.,
Gently fold into the batter.
Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until centers of cakes
rise and tops begin to crack, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in
pans, then cool completely on wire rack (cakes will fall slightly.)
For Chocolate Cream:
====================
Whisk together 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate and hot water;
cool to room temperature. Whip cream until nearly stiff. Gently fold
chocolate mixture and rum into whipped cream.
To Assemble:
============
Set aside 1/4 of the chocolate cream for decorating the top of
the cake. Spread remainder evenly between the 3 layers, stacking them
neatly, then spread over the reserved cream over the top and sides.
Measure height of the cake. On a sheet of parchment or waxed
paper, spread 3 ounces melted semisweet chocolate into rectangle
1/16-inch-thick and as wide as the cake is high. Repeat with melted
white chocolate on another sheet of parchment. Refrigerate until
chocolate is firm but not brittle, about 15 minutes. Cut chocolate
crosswise into 3/4-inch-wide strips. Refrigerate to refirm chocolate,
about 15 minutes.
Carefully arrange strips alternately around edges of cake, gently
pressing into icing. Spoon reserved chocolate cream into pastry bag
fitted with a no. 3 round tip. Pipe mixture into straight lines atop
the cake. Dust lightly with cocoa;’ refrigerate. Garnish with
chocolate leaves. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Yields
12 servings