Heavenly Mini Chocolate Layer Cake

I know this looks delicious… and guilty. But guess what, it’s actually not as bad as you might think. The cake itself tastes very rich but is quite guilt-free, it’s the ganache which makes the whole thing less heavenly for your figure.

The original recipe is by Robert Linxe, French chocolatier and founder of La Maison du Chocolat in Paris, and the only difference here is that I made the miniature version with just a third of the ingredients of the original recipe.

The list of ingredients for a large cake you find at the bottom of this post, to make the miniature, just divide them by 3.
First, you need to prepare the ganache since it needs to be refrigerated for 12 hours – so if possible, prepare it at night and then get started with the cake the next morning. It’s real simple: chop the chocolate and let it melt on the stove together with the whipping cream and butter. Keep stirring and once it is all melted together to a glossy chocolate cream, take it off the stove and let it cool in the fridge till the next morning.

Heavenly Mini Chocolate Layer Cake

 

Print

Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

Author: Melina Thompson

Serves: 3

INGREDIENTS

• FOR THE GANACHE:
• 300g dark chocolate (60% or 72%)
• 150ml whipping cream
• 50g (1/2 stick) soft butter
• FOR THE CAKE:
• 100g (1/2 cup) grounded almonds
• 100g (3/4 cup + 1 Tbs) powdered sugar
• 30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder (unsweet)
• 6 egg whites
• 1 pinch of salt
• 30g (3 Tbs) sugar
• + some pistachios for the topping

INSTRUCTIONS

1. CAKE: Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and mix it in with the grounded almonds.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a hint of salt till almost stiff. Before it starts to form peaks, add 1 spoon of regular sugar. Once its stiff, you fold it into the cocoa-almond mix.
3. Fill the batter in 3 little forms and keep in mind that the batter will rise quite a bit.
4. Bake the cakes at 350°F / 180°C for about 20-25 minutes until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
5. Let them cool down and remove them from the forms.
6. Get the ganache out of the refrigerator and give it some time to adjust to room temperature.
7. When the cakes are cooled down, cut them horizontally into 2 or 3 layers.
8. Spread the ganache on the layers and stack them.
9. To finish the cake, heat up the left-over ganache and pour it over the cakes, then garnish it with some chopped pistachios.

3.2.2265