A dessert on my blog?! A cake?! Even I am surprised. The truth is I am not a cake baker by any standard. And I am immensely jealous of people who bake cakes with effortless grace. In fact, I can’t bake a cake to save my life and every time I naïvely embark on doing it I fail miserably… but I can bake this! A gooey, oozy and boozy chocolate indulgence. Oh yes.
I know why I can bake this… it’s not really a cake, it’s more like a baked mousse and the tiny amount of flour proves it (only 30g). So I probably still can’t bake a cake to save my life. I can make bread things but it seems that as soon as the word “cake” is mentioned, I get into a flap and loose any cooking skills (and common sense?) I may have. Well, onwards and upwards with this one.
It is one of those half-cake, half-mousse cakes like a fondant but on a larger scale. And it is laced with rum for a grown-up twist. Of course you can make this alcohol-free but I can’t think of any reason why one would, except if you are expecting children to eat some. Maybe make two? Split the recipe in half and bake in two small tins. Yes, that would work!
I am sure you have noticed that this is not a handsome cake. It’s full of imperfections, cracks and wonky lines. But I can guarantee you that all that superficial detail is utterly irrelevant as this is absolutely D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. It is perfect texture-wise too, with the right balance of flourness and gooeyness. I know these are not words, please bear with me.
There really isn’t much to say about this cake – make it and eat it. Eat it with some ice cream (mint choc chip, vanilla, raspberry, etc.) and/or some boozy fruit on the side (cook slowly with a little sugar, water and a dash of spirit, which could be dark rum again, brandy, Marsala or Port, until softened). As it is cherry season why not go for those? They are sour enough to cut through some of the chocolatey sweetness. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me.
- Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees celsius (350 Fahrenheit, Gas Mark 4). Melt the chocolate with the butter in bain-marie. When it is all melted add the rum and mix well.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites and whisk the yolks with half the sugar (100g), the flour and the pinch of salt.
- When the mixture turns a pale yellow, add the melted chocolate and the dark rum.
- Beat the egg whites and mix in the rest of the sugar.
- Fold the egg white and sugar mixture into the chocolate mixture.
- Line a 25cm (10 in) round tin with parchment paper and fill it with the mixture. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before attempting to remove the parchment paper. As it cools, the sides of the cake will start to shrink. Worry not, this will add a bit of drama to the cake making its edges a bit rugged (remember we are really talking about a baked mousse here).
4 Comments
This looks gorgeous! Going to have a try!
Hi Andrea,
Thank you for dropping by. It really is gorgeous. Let me know how you get on!
Love dark chocolate and rum so I’m all about this cake! Sometimes I don’t feel the best after eating a piece of regular chocolate cake because too much flour, so this recipe is perfect for me. I am also taking you up on your suggestion to serve it with some boozy fruit. Yum! 🙂
Hi Karrie,
I’m with you on the flour! This is essentially a baked mousse so somehow less ‘heavy’. Do let me know how you get on! Thanks for dropping by 🙂