Chocolate Gateaux Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base of 3 x 20cm cake tins. Boil the kettle. Put the butter and 75g chocolate broken into chunks in a small pan and gently heat, stirring, until completely melted.
• Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda with a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs and buttermilk or yogurt together. Scrape the melted chocolate mixture and egg mixture into the dry ingredients, add 100ml boiling water and whizz briefly with an electric whisk until the cake batter is lump free.
• Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 25 mins, swapping the tins round after 20 mins if they're on different shelves. To test they're done, push in a skewer and check that it comes out clean.
• Prick the cakes a few times with a skewer. Mix together the 2 tbsp reserved cherry juice and the kirsch (or more juice) and drizzle over the cakes. Cool the cakes.
• Mix together the remaining drained cherries and jam. Tip 200ml of the cream into a small pan and heat until just below simmering point. Chop the remaining chocolate and put in a heatproof bowl, pour over the hot cream and stir until melted. Set aside until spreadable.
• When the cakes are cool whisk the remaining cream and the icing sugar together until softly whipped. Spread over two of the cakes, then spoon over the jammy cherries. Stack the cakes together. Spread the chocolate cream over the third cake and sit on top of the other cakes. Pile the fresh cherries in and around the cake and serve

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line fourteen 1/2-cup muffin cups with foil baking cups and lightly spray foil with cooking spray.
• Make cakes:
• Chop chocolate. In a double boiler or in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat. In a deep narrow bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thick, pale, and doubled in volume (10 to 15 minutes with a hand-held mixer and about 5 minutes with a standing electric mixer). Fold eggs into chocolate gently but thoroughly. In another bowl with cleaned beaters beat cream until it forms soft peaks and beat in Amaretto until just combined. Fold cream mixture into chocolate mixture until just combined.
• Fill each baking cup with batter. Put muffin cups in 2 large baking pans and add enough hot water to pans to reach halfway up sides of muffin cups. Bake cakes in upper and lower thirds of oven 15 minutes, or until they are risen and just firm (do not overbake). Remove pans from oven and cool cakes in muffin cups in water baths. Remove muffin cups from baths. Chill cakes in muffin cups 30 minutes and freeze, covered, 1 hour.
• Make topping while freezing cakes:
• Chop chocolate. In a small saucepan bring cream to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth.
• Set a large rack over a shallow baking pan. Carefully remove cakes from muffin cups and peel foil from frozen cakes, arranging cakes upside down on rack. Spoon ganache over cakes, letting excess drip down sides. If necessary, pour excess ganache in baking pan back into saucepan and continue to spoon it over cakes. Chill cakes, uncovered, until firm.
• Serve cakes with ice cream and/or coulis.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, melted chocolate and vanilla. Combine the flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the hazelnuts., In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; carefully fold into batter. Spread into a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. , Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; remove sides of pan. Cool completely., In a saucepan, bring the butter, corn syrup and water to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Spread over top and sides of cake. Garnish with almonds and mint.

Steps:

• Put the chocolate chips and the butter in a bowl.
• Heat for 1 minute in the microwave on high.
• Stir the chocolate mixture until smooth.
• Mix the flour and sugar with the chocolate mixture and the 3 eggs together.
• Put in a greased 9" round pan or mini muffin pan and cook for 10-15 minutes at 400.
• Remove the cake or mini-muffins and cool.
• Bon appetit!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180C, fan 160°C Grease and line a 20cm round tin. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in 50g sugar until glossy.
• In a separate bowl, beat the yolks with the remaining sugar until thick and creamy. Sift in the flour and 25g cocoa powder, add the egg whites and fold all the ingredients together. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 20 minutes. Cool, then remove from the tin.
• Using a pastry cutter, mark out 6 x 6cm rounds in the top of the cake. Press 5 circules around the edge and one in the centre of the cake - keep the outer circles as close to the edge as possible to allow space for the centre circle. Use a sharp knife to cut out the rounds, then put in the freezer for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the icing. Put the cream in a bowl. Sift over the icing sugar and the remaining cocoa powder. Using an electric hand whisk, beat until stiff peaks form.
• Remove the cakes from the freezer and cut through each twice, horizontally, so that you have 3 layers per cake. Fill a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle with the icing. Sandwich the layers with a piped spiral of filling, then pipe little stars around the edge of the tops. To serve, scatter with the grated chocolate.