Jacques Easy Chocolate Cake
Serves: 3
Llewellyn Gorczany
1 January 1970
Based on User reviews:
54
Spice
43
Sweetness
47
Sourness
38
mins
Prep time (avg)
4.6
Difficulty
Ingredients:
Directions:
1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
2
Spray a 10-inch cake pan with vegetable cooking spray
3
Line the bottom of the pan with a 10-inch parchment paper circle
4
Spray the top of the parchment paper circle with vegetable cooking spray
5
Place both chopped chocolates in a bowl and melt over a double boiler
6
Combine the sugar and water in a 1-quart saucepan and place over medium-high heat
7
Bring to a boil until all of the sugar is dissolved
8
Pour the hot syrup into the bowl of melted chocolate
9
Whisk until the mixture is homogenous
10
Add the butter and whisk until well mixed
11
Use an electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugar until well blended
12
Use a rubber spatula to fold this mixture into the chocolate mixture
13
Be careful to mix gently
14
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan
15
Place a baking sheet with one-inch sides in the oven
16
Place the filled cake pan on the baking sheet
17
Fill the baking sheet with water so the water covers the bottom inch of the cake pan
18
Bake until the cake surface appears dull and taut when pressed in the middle, about 40 minutes
19
Remove the cake pan from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack
20
Turn off the oven and let the baking sheet and water cool before you attempt to remove them
21
TEMPERING CHOCOLATE: Tempering is important because it determines the final gloss, hardness, and contraction of the chocolate
22
Those factors are evidence that the cocoa butter in the chocolate has been correctly crystallized
23
Chocolate is purchased in its tempered form
24
It snaps when you break it, usually has a nice shine to it and it is hard
25
In order to use it, you need to melt it
26
When you melt chocolate, the molecules of fat separate and you lose the temper (crystallization)
27
If you want to use the chocolate for molding or coating, it needs to be tempered
28
Tempering chocolate means putting the molecules of fat back together
29
There are a variety of ways to do it
30
One of the easiest ways to temper it is to place the chocolate in a glass bowl and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high power until the chocolate is melted
31
Be very careful not to overheat it
32
Keep an eye on it; the chocolate will not look like it has melted because it retains its shape
33
The chocolate should be only slightly warmer than your bottom lip
34
You may still see lumps in it but, don't worry; the residual heat of the chocolate will melt them
35
You can also use an immersion blender to break up the lumps and start the recrystallization process
36
Usually, the chocolate begins to set (recrystallize) along the side of the bowl
37
As it begins to crystallize, mix those crystals into the melted chocolate and they will begin the recrystallization process
38
I like to use a glass bowl because it retains the heat and keeps the chocolate tempered a long time
39
Here is another easy way to temper chocolate
40
In this method, tempering is achieved by adding small pieces of unmelted chocolate to melted chocolate
41
The amount of unmelted chocolate to be added depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate but is usually one fourth of the total amount
42
I use an immersion blender to mix the 2 together
43
The classic way to temper chocolate is call tabliering
44
Chocolate is melted over a hot water bath to a temperature between 88 and 90 F (31 to 34 C)
45
White and milk chocolate are melted to a temperature approximately 2 F less, depending on the amount of milk fat they contain
46
2/3 of the melted chocolate is poured on a cold table or marble surface
47
The chocolate is spread out and worked with a spatula until the temperature of the chocolate is approximately 81 F (27 C)
48
At this stage, it is thick and begins to set
49
This tempered chocolate is then added to the remaining one third of non-tempered chocolate and mixed thoroughly until the mass in the bowl has a completely uniform temperature
50
If the temperature is still too high, part of the chocolate is further worked on the cold table until the correct temperature is reached
51
This is a lot of work, requires a lot of room and makes a big mess
52
Here is a tip: Temper more chocolate than you need
53
A larger quantity will hold its temper longer than a smaller quantity (just like a large cup of coffee will stay hot longer than a small cup of espresso)
54
You can always reuse the extra chocolate
55
Most people have trouble tempering because they use too small of an amount
56
Don't forget to use a glass bowl
57
A simple method of checking tempering is by applying a small quantity of chocolate to a piece of paper or to the point of a knife
58
If the chocolate has been correctly tempered it will harden evenly and show a good gloss within 5 minutes
59
Remember, just like everything else in life, practice makes perfect
60
If your chocolate does not temper the first time, you can still eat it! Now that is an incentive!