Delicious UK – (10)October 2019

• 150gdarkchocolate(70%
  cocoasolids),chopped


• 6 mediumfree-rangeeggs,
  fridge-cold,beaten


• 1 tbspvanillabeanextract


• 220gplainflour


• 1 tspbicarbonateofsoda


• 1 tsp baking powder

FORTHEPEANUTBUTTERCREAM

• 225gunsalted butter,
  softened


• 250gsmoothpeanut butter


• 375gicingsugar


• 1 tspvanillaextract


• ½tspsalt


• 2 tbsp whole milk

FORTHECHOCOLATEGANACHE

• 150gdarkchocolate(70%
  cocoasolids),finelychopped


• 300ml double cream

YOU’LLALSONEED...

• 3 x 20cmsandwichtins,
  greased,baseslinedwith
  non-stickbakingpaper;
  stand mixer; piping bag

1 Heattheovento170°C/
150°Cfan/gas3½.Putthe
cocoapowder,100gofthe
muscovadosugarandthe
espressopowderina large
measuringjug.Pouroverthe
boilingwater,thenwhiskusing
a balloonwhiskuntilsmooth.
2 Overa lowheatina medium
pan,meltthebutterand
remainingmuscovadosugar
untildissolved.Addthedark
chocolateandslowlymelt
together,stirringoccasionally.
3 Oncemelted,pourinthe
whiskedcocoa/coffeemixture,
beateneggsandvanillabean
extract,thencombineusinga
balloonwhisk.Sifttheflour,
bicarbandbakingpowderinto
anotherlargemixingbowl,then
pourinthechocolatemixture
andadda pinchofsalt.Gently
mixusinga balloonwhisk to
forma smoothbatter.
4 Dividethebatterequally
amongthepreparedtinsand
smooth the tops using a spatula.

Bakefor20-25minutesuntil

thespongeshaverisenand

a skewerpushedintothecentre

comesoutclean.Coolinthe

tinsfor5 minutes,thenturnout

ontoa racktocoolcompletely

(seeMakeAhead).

5 Meanwhile,makethepeanut

buttercream.Putthebutter

andpeanutbutterinthebowl

ofa standmixerandwhisk

untillightandfluffy.Addthe

icingsugar,onethirdata time,

whiskingbetweeneach

additionuntilsmoothandstiff.

Whiskinthevanilla,saltand

enoughmilktomakea mixture

thatcanbespreadevenly.

6 Oncethecakeshavecooled,

levelthetops,trimmingwith

a serratedknifeif needed.Put

1 tbspbuttercreaminthe

centreofa cakeplateorstand,

thenputthefirstspongeon

top.Smootha 5mmlayerof

buttercreamontopofthe

sponge.Repeatwiththenext

2 spongesuntilall3 cakesare

stackedontopofeachother.

Smootha verythinlayerof

buttercreamalloverthecake

witha paletteknife– don’t

worryif it picksupsomeofthe

crumbsfromthecake(thisis

calleda ‘crumbcoat’).Once

thecakeisevenlycoveredwith

a thinlayerofbuttercream,

transfertothefridgetochill

for 30 minutes(thecrumb

coatmakesit mucheasier

toapplya secondsmooth,

evencoatingtothecake.

7 Coverthecakewiththerest

oftheicingina smoothlayer,

thenchillinthefridgewhileyou

makethechocolateganache.

8 Tomaketheganache,putthe

chocolateina largeheatproof

bowlandputthecreamina pan

overa mediumheat.Slowly

bringthecreamtotheboil.

Assoonasit startstobubble,

pourit overthechocolateand

leavetostandfor2 minutes.

Stiruntilthechocolatehas

completelymelted,then

transfer to a piping bag.

9 Snipa smallholeinthe

cornerofthepipingbagand

pipetheganachesteadilyonto

theedgeofthecaketocreate

drips,thencoverthewholeof

thetopofthecake.Smooththe

ganacheontopwitha palette

knife,thenreturnthecaketo

thefridgetosetfor 30 minutes.

10 Decorateasyoulike,then

serve(seetip).We’veused

Halloweenmeringueghosts

(seeboxonpreviousspread)

forourcakebutyoucoulduse

whateverdesignsyoulike.

PERSERVING(FOR24)

542kcals,35.9gfat(19.9g

saturated),7.4gprotein,

46.4gcarbs(38.1gsugars),

0.4g salt, 2g fibre

Prune,whisky&dark

chocolatepudding

SERVES12-16.HANDS-ONTIME

40 MIN,OVENTIME1 HOUR35-40MIN,

PLUS SOAKING AND RESTING

FOOD

TEAM’S

TIPS

Whenliningthetin,

leavea 2cmoverhang

topreventoverflow.

Coveranyleftoverpuddingand

keepinthefridge for up

to 2 days.

• 150gpittedprunes, finely
  chopped


• 220gcastersugar


• 125mlwhisky


• 5 mediumfree-rangeeggs


• 2 tspvanillabeanpaste


• 600mldoublecream


• 600gbriocheloaf,cut
  into2cmslices


• 100gunsaltedbutter,melted,
  cooled,plusextratogrease


• 200gdarkchocolate(70%
  cocoasolids),chopped


• 2 tbsp demerara sugar
  
  
  • 1 tbspgood-quality cocoa
    powdertodust
  
  
  • Custard to serve
  
  
  
  

YOU’LLALSONEED...

• 23cmroundspringformcake
  tin,atleast7cmdeep,greased
  andlinedwithnon-stick
  baking paper (see tip)

1 Puttheprunesand110gof

thecastersugarina bowl,then

pouroverthewhisky.Setaside

tosoakfor 30 minutes.

2 Heattheovento150°C/130°C

fan/gas2.Putthetinon3 layers

offoilandwrapthemaround

theoutside(abitofscrunching

hereisfine,butdon’ttearit).

3 Whisktheeggs,vanilla,

creamandtheremaining110g

castersugarina mixingbowl

tocombine.Arrangehalfthe

briocheslicesinthebaseof

thepreparedtin.Pouroverthe

meltedbutterand375mlofthe

creammixture.Topwiththe

prunemixture(andthewhisky),

scatterwiththechocolate,then

topwiththeremainingbrioche.

Pourtherestofthecream

mixtureoverthetop,then

leavetosoakfor 30 minutes.

4 Putthecaketinina deep

roastingtin.Half-fillthetin

withboilingwater(thefoilwill

stopwaterfromgettinginto

thetin).Bakefor1 hour 25

minutestosetthecustard,then

removefromovenandsprinkle

withthedemerarasugar.

5 Turnuptheovento

180°C/160°Cfan/gas4 and

bakefor10-15minutesmore

untilthesugarontophas

caramelised.Setasidetorest

for 20 minutes,thenserve

dustedwithcocoaanddrizzled

withcustard,withmore

custardontheside.

PERSERVING(FOR16)

545kcals,34.3gfat(20.7g

saturated),7.3gprotein,

46.6gcarbs(31.4gsugars),

0.4gsalt,2gfibre

Formorewaystouse

prunes, see Loose Ends

favourites.