Royal chocolate cake is a combination of almond/hazelnut dacquoise and crispy layer of Gavottes with chocolate whipped cream. The “father-creator” of the cake is French chef Christophe Felder.
Mother’s Day is coming up… I was thinking of what kind of cake I would bake for this very special day, and the Royal chocolate cake came up to my mind. I found its recipe some time ago and only waited for a reason:) What could be better and tastier than a chocolate cake on that day?
It is a pity that my Mom is so far away from me, and I am not able to come up to her with words “I love you, Mom”. Yes, I surely do this using a great communication tool Skype, but it is not the same as you have a contact in person. Well, it has been for me and my Mom for the last almost 10 years since I left Russia…
The Royal chocolate cake… the marvelous one… it has born a few hours ago and now is resting in the fridge, waiting to be cut and served tonight. In spite of that Mother’s Day is in two days, we are starting to celebrate it. Well, I might end up with another cake for Mother’s Day:)
I must admit that this chocolate cake is not a complicated one. I would say that it is easy and quickly to make. The only thing that you would need (do not be scared reading the ingredients) is Gavottes. I used the Amazon as a great supplier of these authentic crispy crepes. And they are made in France!
Ingredients:
For crunchy Gavottes:
- 50 g Gravottes
- 50 g milk chocolate
- 50 g [chocolate] praline
- 50 g hazelnut praline * paste
For dacquoise:
- 85 g egg whites
- 50 g caster sugar
- 100 g icing sugar
- 50 g almond powder [flour]
- 20 g hazelnut powder [flour]
For chocolate whipped cream:
- 300 ml whipping cream
- 60 ml whole milk
- 120 g dark chocolate 60%
For decoration:
- cacao powder
Instructions:
To make the crunchy Gavottes, crush the crêpes roughly with a rolling pin *. Melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie. In a bowl, place the praline, the hazelnut paste and the Gavottes’ chips and mix.
Once the mixture is homogeneous, add the melted chocolate and mix again. Place a cake ring * of 22 cm of diameter on a plate covered with parchment paper *. Pour the mixture into the ring. Store in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
For the dacquoise, preheat the oven to 335 degrees F.
Sift the icing sugar, the almond and hazelnut powders. Whisk the egg whites and gradually add the caster sugar until the whites are firm.
Once the meringue is ready, add the icing sugar/powders mixture and gently mix with a spatula.
Spread the preparation inside a cake ring * of 22 cm placed on a baking sheet with parchment paper *. Use a spoon or a pastry bag * with a plane tip.
Bake at 335 degrees F 20 to 25 minutes. Once the dacquoise is ready, let it cool on a rack.
For the chocolate whipped cream, whip the cold whipping cream in a bowl. Stop whipping when it is doubled in volume. Then place it in the fridge. Melt the dark chocolate broken in pieces in a bain-marie. Bring the milk to boil and pour it on the melted chocolate, mix and smooth.
When the mixture is lukewarm, add the chocolate mixture to the whipped cream and mix with a spatula as fast as possible.
To assemble the cake, place the dacquoise at the bottom of the cake ring * and garnish with half of the chocolate whipped cream.
Then place the crunchy Gavottes layer and cover with the rest of whipped cream to the edge of the ring.
Even the surface of the the chocolate cream with a spatula and leave in the fridge for 24 hours.
Before serving, remove the ring…
and sprinkle with cocoa powder *.
For a chic cake: before sprinkling with cocoa powder *, cut a thin plastic band (florist paper) at the diameter and height of the cake rim. Spread the melted chocolate on one side of the plastic band, let it rest for 1 min and roll the cake with the chocolate side inside. Leave to dry before removing. Sprinkle with the cacao powder and it is done! I personally used the shredded dark chocolate over the chocolate whipped cream for the cake edges.
Enjoy!
Tips:
- Place the bowl that will be used to whip the whipping cream in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- This cake can be kept for 2 or 3 days in the fridge.
- To mark the royal, prearrange the cake pieces with the back of the knife’s blade.
The recipe is taken from http://www.elle.fr and translated from French. It is re-written by me, but the authorship of the recipe belongs to Christophe Felder. All posted pictures are mine.
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PinDescription
Royal chocolate cake is a combination of almond/hazelnut dacquoise and crispy layer of Gavottes with chocolate whipped cream. Delicious! YUMMY!
Ingredients
For crunchy Gavottes:
- 50 g Gravottes
- 50 g milk chocolate
- 50 g [chocolate] praline paste
- 50 g hazelnut praline * paste
For dacquoise:
- 85 g egg whites
- 50 g caster sugar
- 100 g icing sugar
- 50 g almond powder [flour]
- 20 g hazelnut powder [flour]
For chocolate whipped cream:
- 300 ml whipping cream
- 60 ml whole milk
- 120 g dark chocolate 60%
For decoration:
- cacao powder
Instructions
- To make the crunchy Gavottes, crush the crêpes roughly with a rolling pin *. Melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie. In a bowl, place the praline, the hazelnut paste and the Gavottes’ chips and mix. Once the mixture is homogeneous, add the melted chocolate and mix again.
- Place a cake ring * of 22 cm in diameter on a plate covered with parchment paper *. Pour the mixture into the ring. Store in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
- For the dacquoise, preheat the oven to 335 degrees F. Sift the icing sugar, the almond and hazelnut powders. Whisk the egg whites and gradually add the caster sugar until the whites are firm. Once the meringue is ready, add the icing sugar/powders mixture and gently mix with a spatula.
- Spread the preparation inside a cake ring * of 22 cm placed on a baking sheet with parchment paper *. Use a spoon or a pastry bag * with a plane tip. Bake at 335 degrees F 20 to 25 minutes. Once the dacquoise is ready, let it cool on a rack.
- For the chocolate whipped cream, whip the cold whipping cream in a bowl. Stop whipping when it is doubled in volume. Then place it in the fridge. Melt the dark chocolate broken in pieces in a bain-marie. Bring the milk to boil and pour it on the melted chocolate, mix and smooth. When the mixture is lukewarm, add the chocolate mixture to the whipped cream and mix with a spatula as fast as possible.
- To assemble the cake, place the dacquoise at the bottom of the cake ring * and garnish with half of the chocolate whipped cream. Then place the crunchy Gavottes layer and cover with the rest of whipped cream to the edge of the ring. Even the surface of the chocolate cream with a spatula and leave in the fridge for 24 hours . Before serving, remove the ring and sprinkle with cocoa powder *.
- For a chic cake: before sprinkling with cocoa powder *, cut a thin plastic band (florist paper) at the diameter and height of the cake rim. Spread the melted chocolate on one side of the plastic band, let it rest for 1 min and roll the cake with the chocolate side inside. Leave to dry before removing. Sprinkle with the cacao powder and it is done!
Notes
- Place the bowl that will be used to whip the whipping cream in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- This cake can be kept for 2 or 3 days in the fridge.
- To mark the royal, prearrange the cake pieces with the back of the knife’s blade.
Keywords: cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, Christophe Felder
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