PicoBlog

Hello friends,

I’ve spent this week dreaming of sunnier, warmer days laying on a beach somewhere, getting stuck into a good book whilst tucking into an endless supply of mystery, foreign snacks picked up at the local supermarket. It’s very unlike me to not have an upcoming trip in the diary but I’ve had enough of the abysmal weather in London and I’ll be getting something booked asap!

To soothe my longing for some time away, I’ve turned to a reliable and comforting ingredient for this weeks recipe. Chocolate! I’m a HUGE chocolate fan and will consume it in pretty much any form - except ice cream. For reasons unknown, I have never been into chocolate ice cream. Mint choc chip? Stunning, 10/10. But just straight up chocolate ice cream? Absolutely not.

I’m especially fond of chocolate cakes and love that they come in many different forms - it’s by no means a one size fits all. I like to categorise them into ‘day cakes’ and ‘evening cakes’. Let me explain. So, a classic birthday chocolate cake would fall into the ‘day’ category. It’s usually made up of two or more layers with a moist, slightly springy sponge. The chocolate flavour is fun and on the sweeter side. Add in some chocolate buttercream or a whipped ganache, maybe some sprinkles, and you have yourself a pretty dreamy cake. Could you serve this in the evening? Of course! But does that make it an ‘evening cake’? I don’t believe so! Or there’s also a chocolate snacking cake which is usually just one layer. It’s modest and not too rich with perhaps just a simple dusting of icing sugar or cocoa powder to finish. The chocolate flavour isn’t too in your face and it goes perfectly with a cup of tea. If you’ve got my second book, A Good Day to Bake, my recipe for store cupboard cake would be a great example of this. Chocolate loaf cakes and muffins would also fall into the day category.

For chocolate cakes that fall into the evening category, these would be the kind of things you’d serve for dessert after dinner. Think flourless chocolate cakes and self saucing cakes. They’re usually intensely chocolatey with a richer, more dense crumb. And often a little gooey and sticky. They’re the sort of cakes where you only need a small slice and a pour of cold cream to serve.

Todays recipe for paid subscribers sits firmly within the evening cake category. It’s not as dense as a chocolate torte and not as gooey either. It does lean a bit more into brownie territory but with a much lighter mouthfeel. We start with a base of whipped eggs and sugar and then in goes some melted butter and chocolate. There’s just enough flour and cocoa powder to hold it together and make it sliceable. You could definitely serve this a little warm but I quite like it when it’s completely cool and has had time to firm up a bit.

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Now for the topping! For a cake that is on the rich side, I needed something that was lighter and bit fresher to balance it out. Crème fraîche on its own was just a little too tangy for my liking so I ended up whipping it with some double cream to tone it down a touch and it was perfect. Coffee and chocolate is a tried and tested combination that always works and it adds another layer of deliciousness to the topping. Instant coffee works a treat here; its a very specific flavour that I wouldn’t necessarily choose for my morning coffee but I love the coffee vibe it brings to buttercreams and cakes.

You’ve got two options when it comes to finishing this cake. Pile the whipped crème fraîche on top and dust generously with cocoa powder for a dramatic centrepiece. Or spoon the topping into bowls for people to dollop on their slices. Both are equally fabulous.

Enjoy!

Benjamina x

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