Chocolate Truffle Gateau

You know you are getting old when.....

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  You wake up the morning of your birthday and decide to bake your own cake
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  You pick up a foreign magazine, written in a foreign language (മലയാളം), and decide on the spot. Yes! That one right there. That's the cake you'll make.
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  Never mind the fact that the recipe is also written in said foreign language.
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  But you're too old to let trivial matters like that stop you.
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  It's other facts like not even putting a representative number of candles on your cake that are more worrisome.
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  Four? Four times Four + Four = nah, that didn't work....
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  But at least the candles were hot pink.

This recipe for Chocolate Truffle Cake came from the Chef De Partie at the CG Hearth Experience Hotel Group, Kochi, Kerala. But it wasn't that guests in the Brunton Boatyard Hotel below were strolling around and eating this cake that got me.

Nope, it was pretty much the word Chocolate. (And even after making the cake, I'm still not sure where the Truffle part comes in).....

This cake is a light sponge, doused in a rum-infused sugar syrup and then coated in a silky chocolate cream. Happy Birthday To Me wrapped up all in there. I made this cake in Decemebr for my birthday....

After several text messages to people asking if "jhg%^$^$&" means 6 eggs or 7 eggs, I deciphered the recipe and it turned out pretty good. The kids devoured the icing, but didn't think the sponge underneath was that hot. The husband solidly ate through two-thirds of the cake. Moi, I'm still working off the combined effects of 6 eggs in a cake. Or was it 7? =)

Alas, this recipe was in good ol' Continental measure, so break out yer grams and yer millilitres, because that handy-dandy web conversion tool I had on the side of this blog seems to have gone missing. (R.I.P. Culiverter, though I'm sure there are just a few bazillion other web converting tools out there for your perusal).

Chocolate Truffle Cake (As seen (and meticulously translated via text messaging) in Vanitha magazine. My definition of "meticulous")

Sponge Cake

Flour - 135 grams

Cocoa Powder - 1 heaped Tbsp

Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp

Eggs - 6

Sugar - 200 grams

Hot milk - 5 Tbsp

"Truffle" Cream

Grated Dark Chocolate - 150 grams (I used Baker's SemiSweet Chocolate)

Heavy Cream - 150 grams

Sugar SyrupSugar - 100 grams

Water - 250 ml

Lemon juice - a few drops

Rum - 2 Tbsp

Method

1. Preheat oven to 235 degrees Celsius/ 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Prepare Sponge -

3. Mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder in a bowl.

4. Beat eggs and sugar together in another bowl till creamy.

5. Add hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture whilst beating continuously.

6. Fold in the flour mixture from (3) into the egg-sugar-milk mixture in small increments until just combined

7. Pour batter into a greased cake tin and bake in pre-heated oven for 8 minutes. Yes, people - 8 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick if you don't believe.

8. Prepare Truffle Cream -

9. Put cream and chocolate in a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water and stir till chocolate melts.

10. Allow to cool, and refridgerate truffle cream for a minimum of 2 hours.

11. Prepare Sugar Syrup -

12. Heat water and sugar in a pot over medium heat. After the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add lemon juice. If any sediments rise to the top, spoon these off and discard, and add rum.

12. Assemble Cake -

13. My cake did not rise that much, so I got two layers, but depending on your preference, slice the cake into as many layers as you want.

14. Brush the layers (sides and underneath as well) with the sugar syrup.

15. Spread truffle cream between the layers, and place layers back on top of each other.

16. Use the remaining truffle cream (heat if necessary to get a little better spreading consistency) to spread over the top of the cake and sides.

This cake is going over to Dil Se for the event "Show Me Your Cake".