Chocolate Prune Cake
Perhaps chocolate prune cake will be the rage (like chocolate molten cake was). This cake - versions of it - popped into my view a few times lately. It was in a cookbook by Claire Ptak. It was featured in a Guardian article. It showed up in the new publication called "Christopher Kimball's Milk Street." Then, while nosing around David Lebovitz's blog (he is a go to for me), I saw yet another version of this chocolate prune cake! I made it twice, the first time using Claire Ptak's recipe and the second time using David Lebovitz's. I can't tell you how they compare since I dropped the cake pan with Ptak's version onto the floor as I was about to put it into the oven (curses!!) Second time round, to save cost, I went with Lebovitz's version as it didn't call for ground almonds and it uses only 3 tbs of sugar in all. You can find Lebovitz's recipe here: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/chocolate-cake-recipe-prunes/
The two recipes are substantially the same (Leibovitz's recipe requires a lot less sugar). I learned one thing from trying it both times: don't multitask while making this cake. The chocolate-butter mixture has to be warm. Don't let it cool off too much or it would become a solid block of ganache and you won't be able to fold in the beaten egg whites that way (if it does become too hard, rewarm the chocolate-butter mixture by submerging bowl in a bigger bowl of hot water and stir till it is all liquidly again).
The result is worth it. I made it and brought it camping in Anza Borrego State Park recently. It was delicious.
125 g prunes
40 ml armagnac (or Cognac or even just dark rum)
240g dark chocolate chopped into small pieces
200g or 7 oz unsalted butter
5 eggs, separated
100g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
150g ground almonds
Chop the prunes into smaller pieces and soak in the armagnac. (Do this the night before, or warm the armagnac and prunes in a small pot over the stove for a few minutes).
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put the chocolate and butter into a small pot and warm over gentle heat. Stir occasionally to emulsify the chocolate and butter and to keep the chocolate from burning. Once melted, take off heat to cool slightly.
Separate the egg whites and yolks into two separate bowls. (I like to put the egg white directly into the bowl of the stand mixer). Make sure the yolks go into a medium large bowl. Add sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks, whisk to thicken and then add the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Add to this mixture the prunes (scraping in any unabsorbed armagnac), salt and ground almonds.
Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form. Fold 1/3 of this into the chocolate mixture to lighten. Then fold in the rest of the egg white just until incorporated.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes. The cake will be slightly soft in the middle. It will be the gooey goodness in the middle. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream if desired.
The two recipes are substantially the same (Leibovitz's recipe requires a lot less sugar). I learned one thing from trying it both times: don't multitask while making this cake. The chocolate-butter mixture has to be warm. Don't let it cool off too much or it would become a solid block of ganache and you won't be able to fold in the beaten egg whites that way (if it does become too hard, rewarm the chocolate-butter mixture by submerging bowl in a bigger bowl of hot water and stir till it is all liquidly again).
The result is worth it. I made it and brought it camping in Anza Borrego State Park recently. It was delicious.
125 g prunes
40 ml armagnac (or Cognac or even just dark rum)
240g dark chocolate chopped into small pieces
200g or 7 oz unsalted butter
5 eggs, separated
100g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
150g ground almonds
Chop the prunes into smaller pieces and soak in the armagnac. (Do this the night before, or warm the armagnac and prunes in a small pot over the stove for a few minutes).
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put the chocolate and butter into a small pot and warm over gentle heat. Stir occasionally to emulsify the chocolate and butter and to keep the chocolate from burning. Once melted, take off heat to cool slightly.
Separate the egg whites and yolks into two separate bowls. (I like to put the egg white directly into the bowl of the stand mixer). Make sure the yolks go into a medium large bowl. Add sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks, whisk to thicken and then add the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Add to this mixture the prunes (scraping in any unabsorbed armagnac), salt and ground almonds.
Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form. Fold 1/3 of this into the chocolate mixture to lighten. Then fold in the rest of the egg white just until incorporated.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes. The cake will be slightly soft in the middle. It will be the gooey goodness in the middle. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream if desired.
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