Rocky-road cake
SERVES 12 // PREP TIME 30 MINS // COOK 20 MINS (PLUS COOLING, SETTING)
This cake riffs on the classic rocky-road play of textures with fudgy ganache, an extra-soft flourless cake, spongy marshmallow, dried cranberries, and roasted macadamia nuts for crunch.
360 gm dark chocolate
(70% cocoa solids)
80 gm butter, diced
370 gm eggwhite (about
12 large eggs)
130 gm caster sugar
6 large egg yolks
Dried cranberries, sliced candied orange peel (see note), roasted macadamia nuts and Dutch-process cocoa, to serve MARSHMALLOW 75 gm eggwhite (about
3 small eggs) 175 gm caster sugar
Scraped seeds of
½ vanilla bean
80 ml (1⁄3 cup) rosewater 1½ tbsp liquid glucose 5½ titanium-strength gelatine leaves, soaked in cold water (5 minutes) and strained MILK-CHOCOLATE GANACHE 525 gm milk chocolate, finely chopped
180 ml (3⁄4 cup) pouring cream 60 gm honey
45 gm butter, diced
1 Grease an oven tray and line it with baking paper. For marshmallow, place eggwhite in an electric mixer. Place sugar, vanilla, rosewater, glucose and 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Once syrup reaches 118°C on a sugar thermometer, begin whisking eggwhite. Continue boiling syrup until it reaches 125°C, then immediately remove from heat, stir in gelatine and, with the motor running, pour syrup into eggwhite in a steady stream down the side of bowl. Whisk until firm, thick, glossy and cool to touch. With a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle, pipe large teardrops onto prepared tray. Refrigerate until set (1 hour). 2 Preheat oven to 150°C.
Grease two 20cm square cake tins and line them with baking paper. Combine chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let bowl touch water) and stir until melted and smooth. Whisk eggwhite and sugar in an electric mixer until a silky, pearly meringue, transfer a fifth of the meringue to a large bowl, add egg yolks and whisk to combine, then fold yolk mixture into chocolate mixture until smooth. Fold in remaining meringue, then divide batter evenly between prepared
tins, spreading evenly, and bake until risen and firm to touch (12-15 minutes). Cool to room temperature in tins, then turn out.
3 For milk-chocolate ganache, place chocolate in a small food processor. Bring cream and honey to the boil in a saucepan, then immediately pour hot cream over the chocolate.
Stand for 1 minute, then pulse, scraping down sides, until smooth and emulsified. Add butter and process until smooth (ganache will set quickly, so use it immediately).
4 Spread one cake with two-thirds of the ganache, top with remaining cake and spread with remaining ganache. Top with marshmallows, scatter with cranberries, orange and macadamia nuts and dust with cocoa to serve. Cake will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days.
Note Candied orange peel is available from The Essential Ingredient and select delicatessens.