CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUT CAPRESE CAKE WITH WINEROASTED STRAWBERRIES
From The Italian Home Cook
Iwouldn’t call this decadent cake virtuous, but it certainly is a show-stopping dessert that is criminally easy to make. The addition of wine-roasted strawberries is, if say so myself, sensational. The alcohol in the wine evaporates, leaving behind sweetness and an elusive mellowness, which matches incredibly well with the richness of the hazelnuts and chocolate. If you add dollops of whipped cream on top before scattering on the strawberries, you can taste paradiso (heaven).
Method
Preheat your oven to 160C. Line a 20cm round springform cake tin with baking paper. Place the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water) and stir occasionally with a metal spoon until melted. Stir in the olive oil and liqueur, then set aside to cool.
Beat the egg yolks and caster sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Stir in the hazelnut meal, then gently mix in the melted chocolate mixture. Place the egg whites and salt in a very clean, large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form (feel free to use electric beaters or a stand mixer). Gradually fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 40 minutes or until the middle of the cake is slightly wobbly and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in the tin for 30 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, make the wineroasted strawberries. Increase the oven temperature to 180C. Place the strawberries, caster sugar, red wine and vanilla seeds in a large bowl and gently toss. Tumble the mixture on to a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the strawberries are slightly soft and juicy. Allow to cool to room temperature. To serve, top the cake with whipped cream, then scatter on the wine-roasted strawberries and their juices just before serving (or the cream will melt).
Cat Amongst the Pigeons
Fat Cat Shiraz $24
An affordable option for dads who love their wines big, bold and full-bodied. Made in the Barossa Valley, it’s perfect with a steak or for safekeeping in the cellar.
James Squire The Wreck Survivors Ale $61
This ale is made from a 220-year-old yeast taken from a beer bottle found on Australia’s oldest merchant shipwreck, the Sydney Cove, which sank off the coast of Tasmania in 1797. Made in the style of a porter, the intriguing brew contains earthy notes of blackcurrant and spicy clove with a rich malt body.
Mr Black $65
Tall, dark and handsome, this is the perfect gift for the caffeine crazed. Mr Black is an Australian coffee liqueur which has become a favourite among top bars in New York and London. It contains half the sugar and 10 times the coffee of its syrupy competitors, so it can be enjoyed guiltfree. Shake up a classic espresso martini or use it to make a mean boozy affogato.