“When you celebrate, there is sure to be cake.”
Florence Ditlow
Flourless GF Mini Dark Chocolate Layered Cake … it was a cake that was meant to be a Swiss roll. As it often happens, there was a last minute change as it popped out. Wasn’t sure if it was malleable enough to roll, the dessert rings caught my glad eye. Before I knew it, I was stamping out circles to create the sweetest mini layered cake I have ever made!
So if your skills at baking are minimal, if you are scared the sponge might crack up and laugh at you, if you are a sucker for punishment like me and insist that cakes must be dark chocolate and flourless, here’s the perfect answer. STAMP IT OUT! Being experimental at times can throw up the most amazing of options.
Whoever said that dark chocolate is the only therapy you need, is a 100% spot on! This is the prefect little sweet treat, big enough for 3-4 servings, small enough to control temptation. Blink and it’s gone; but oh my, leaves you satiated with quite a happy feeling in the tummy.
I also did a festive version of the cake, Chocolate Sparkler Cake {GF} for this months Diwali issue of Femina, with DIY steps and all. This version had rose petals and pistachios and was great fun to put together.
Summary: Deep, intense, chocolaty and sinful, this Flourless GF Mini Dark Chocolate Layered Cake makes for a creative and fun holiday bake.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- 130g dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp orange juice or water
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Mousse filling and frosting
- 100g dark chocolate
- 200ml cream
- 15g raw sugar {boora} or icing sugar
- Garnish
- Fresh mint leaves, seasonal fruit, cocoa powder
Method:
- Flourless Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate with orange juice {or water} either over a double boiler, or in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Leave to cool.With an electric hand beater, beat the egg whites and 1 tbsp brown sugar in a large clean bowl until stiff peaks form. Reserve.
- Place egg yolks and remaining sugar with vanilla into a big bowl. With the same beaters, beat yolks until tripled and mousse like, 5-7 minutes.
- Drizzle in the melted chocolate and gently fold in, and then add 2 tbsp of beaten whites. Fold gently so that the beaten air is not released.
- Gently fold in 1/3rd of the egg whites, then another third, then the remaining whites.
- Turn batter into prepared pan. Bake at 180C for 18-20 minutes, until firm to touch.
- Take out of oven. Sift over 1 tbsp cocoa thick, and then swiftly yet gently turn the warm cake onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off lower parchment gently, and sift more cocoa over it.
- Allow to cool, and then cut into shapes. 3 X 4.5″ circles and 3 X 3″ circles. {use a cookie cutter, doughnut cutter, katori etc}
- Mousse filling and frosting
- This can be made first so that it chills while the cake is being made.
- Melt chocolate with 50g cream over a double boiler or in the microwave. Whisk until smooth. Cool completely.
- Whip remaining cream with icing sugar. Fold into chocolate mix gently. Leave to chill in the fridge. The mousse should be quite firm, yet spreadable.
- Assemble
- Place one 4.5″ circle in base of tin top with 1/2 layer of mousse filling, top with next layer, mousse filling, then third layer. Repeat for smaller circles.
- Place bigger stacked layer on serving platter and gently remove the ring mold using a sharp knife to free the sides. Use 2/3rd of the remaining mouse to frost the cake, and then top it gently with the smaller cake stack. Frost the smaller cake with remaining mousse and leave to chill for 30minutes.
- Chocolate Lace Collar
- Cut out parchment paper borders to fit around the base cake. Place the melted chocolate in a ziploc bag and snip off a corner. Doodle designs over the border and place flat in the fridge for 5 minutes until just set but malleable. When just about to set, place snugly around the cake, pressing into place ever so gently.
- Leave the cake in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes for the chocolate to harden, and then gently peel off the parchment.
- Sift the cake with a little cocoa powder. Garnish with sliced strawberries and fresh mint leaves.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India
Love how u change course in the middle of baking a cake to bring a beautiful looking one for us.Such pretty one with the collar.
Happy Diwali to u.
Hi deeba, wishing you a very happy Diwali!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe. I have a query. You mention “2 orange juice or water”. Not sure if you mean juice of two oranges, so is it possible to give the measurement in terms of ml or cups?
Hi Bhavana, Sorry. Supposed to be 2 tbsp. Have edited.