CHOCOLATE & LIQUORICE CAKE
MAKES 1 CAKE/SERVES 4–6
A strangely addictive cake with a decent amount of aniseed flavour, reminiscent of a chocolate bullet. When I served this at Franklin, I’d often find the staff post service in the wash-up area hunting for cake trimmings. It’s a variation on a recipe I learned from Finnish chef Pasi Petanen, who uses it as the base for his carrot, yoghurt and liquorice dessert at Café Paci in Sydney. When I served this at Franklin, we would garnish it with wild fennel ice cream and some finely shaved fennel bulb macerated in a vermouth and absinthe sugar syrup.
150g caster sugar
130g plain flour
40g brown sugar
7g baking powder
3g bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) 1g salt
1g powdered star anise 100ml molasses
100ml vegetable oil 100ml orange juice 90ml liquorice water (see below) 1 egg
1 egg yolk
Preheat the oven to 175°C.
In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients and eggs, then pour them into the dry and mix gently with your whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into a lined 24cm × 15cm stainless-steel or aluminium cake tin. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool in the tin before turning out.
To glaze the cake, trim the top with a serrated knife to make it flat, then place on a cake rack set over a tray. Warm the ganache gently in a saucepan, stirring all the time. Pour over the cake, making sure it covers the whole surface, then place in the fridge to set. Once set, trim away all the edges to make it nice and square so you can see the delineation of cake and ganache. Garnish with macerated fennel and fennel fronds, if desired.
LIQUORICE WATER
1 bag hard aniseed candy 500ml water
Bring the candy and water to a simmer over a gentle heat, stirring occasionally, until the candy is completely melted. Set aside in the fridge.
CHOCOLATE LIQUORICE GANACHE
260g soft organic liquorice
400ml water
100g 70% dark chocolate, broken up into pieces
Finely chop the liquorice and combine with the water in a saucepan on the stove. Melt over a low heat, stirring often. When nearly melted, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. While the mixture is still hot, add the chocolate and mix until a silky ganache forms. Pour into a container and set aside.
GARNISH (OPTIONAL)
80g sugar
80ml water
30ml white vermouth ½ fennel bulb wild fennel fronds, to garnish
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar is dissolved, then take off the heat to cool. When cool, add the vermouth. To prepare the fennel, peel the outside with a peeler, then shave it thinly on a mandoline. Macerate the fennel in the vermouth syrup and keep in the fridge to serve cold, garnished with fennel fronds, if desired. ■