Bake Off Bake Along: Week 9 - Amaretto Millionaire's Chocolate Tart

I'm just going to put it out there, chocolate week is my week. I was so excited to be let loose with a chocolate tart. The possibilities really were endless: peanut butter, chocolate bakewell and a cheesecake tart were a few of the ideas I'd had.

After my pastry disaster in week 6 I almost chickened out and bought shop-made pastry. I had to give myself a little pep talk and went with the idea that if it fell apart then at least I'd have something to write about. 

The chocolate pastry wasn't so difficult to make after all, I used a Tom Kerridge recipe. I did roll it out too thin and it fell apart when trying to place it in the tin though. So instead I opted for the ultimate cheats method...whack a big lump of pastry in the middle of a tart tin and squidge it around the corners until it resembles a tart. To Kerridge's recipe, I added a base layer of salted caramel and a malteser and white chocolate drizzle topping. 

It may not be as visually impressive as a chocolate sculpture show-stopper but this is the most decadent dessert you can possibly make. 

For the best chocolate pastry, salted caramel and chocolate ganache, follow these tips:

• pastry can be made up to 3 days ahead and is the perfect opportunity to give it a good chill before rolling and shaping. Wrap well in clingfilm to keep dry. Once ready to use, leave out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes until its soft enough to work with.
• alternatively, to freeze uncooked pastry, shape into a disc and wrap well. Store for up to one month in the freezer before leaving to thaw in the fridge for a day. Or to freeze an uncooked pastry tart that you've already shaped, freeze in the tin until firm enough to wrap.
• when rolling pastry and you've got some spare, flour your work surface with cocoa powder when making chocolate pastry.
• roll the pastry out to the thickness of a pound coin, rolling from the centre outwards and turning a quarter turn after each roll. This will ensure a nice even thickness and that the pastry doesn't stick to the work surface.
• use the rolling pin to gently drape the rolled pastry onto and lower onto the tart tin. Gently lift edges and ease into the corners with a rolled up ball of dough, you don't want to poke any holes with your nails.
• a good way to even out the top is to roll your rolling pin over the top of the tart tin to chop off any remaining pastry edges.
• chill for 30 minutes before blind baking. I like to be safe and prick the base of the tart with a fork a few times, then cover with cling film or baking paper and pour over some baking beans or uncooked rice. Yes, cling film can go in the oven!
• for the easiest guide to making salted caramel, Izy's guide has handy gifs.
• when making ganache I always think of Ashley's video, here.

And to see how I've gotten on with the rest of the challenges...

  

  

 

---

Recipe: Flourless Almond & Amaretto Chocolate Cake

I'm always in the mood for a slice of chocolate cake, or two.

Recently I've been trying to curb my sweet tooth a little. Chocolate and biscuits are the first thing I reach for when I'm hungry rather than having a proper balanced meal. Oops.

Surprisingly (or not) I only managed a week before baking a chocolate cake for the weekend. And I'll skim over the fact that I only lasted a few days before pouring a whole bag of mini eggs into my mouth. Because, well mini eggs!

And, another surprise, as much as I LOVE mini eggs, there's nothing that can beat homemade. Have 2, 3 or even 4 slices and I'm pretty sure it's 'better' than having something shop-bought with all those suspect ingredients.

Well that's my reasoning anyway. Seems a bit rich blogging about a recipe for chocolate cake and healthy food choices. But that's my life!

And now to the point. This cake is deliciously nutty, moist and a little boozy. Feel free to swap ground almonds for hazelnuts and Amaretto for Frangelico or whisky. Whatever takes your fancy. The cake can be stored for 4-5 days in an air-tight container so can be made ahead of time if you need.

Flourless almond and Amaretto chocolate cake
(Recipe adapted from Scandicilous Baking)

4 eggs
250g caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, melted
50ml Amaretto
50g cocoa powder (plus extra to finish)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla salt (see note)
200g ground almonds

Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 23cm round cake tin.

In a mixer, whisk the eggs and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy, approx 5 minutes. Continue to whisk on a low speed whilst adding the butter, Amaretto and cocoa powder in stages, alternating between each until incorporated. Tip the baking powder, vanilla salt and ground almonds in and fold in with a spatula until just combined. Don't fold too much and overwork the mix.

Pour into the prepared tin, smooth the top and bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes. Once cooked, the edges should start to come away from the sides and a skewer inserted into the middle will come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool fully. Dust with a generous helping of cocoa powder or icing sugar and serve with strong coffee and Amaretto spiked cream!


N.B. Vanilla salt -  great to balance out sweet flavours when baking, but its not completely necessary. Feel free to use a small pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla extract instead. Alternatively, make a jar ahead and use in everything you bake! Recipe here from Joy the Baker.

Here's some other great recipes using nut flours from some blogger friends...

Chocolate and chestnut torte from Franglais Kitchen, here.
Popping candy brownies made with almonds from Emily's Recipes and Reviews, here.
French chocolate cake from Vagabond Baker. here.

Coffee Hazelnut Amaretto Cake

This is the biggest cake I've made in a while. So big that I was too scared to transport it in the car over to my Mum's for her birthday. Although it now gives me the perfect excuse to buy another cake box especially for 3-tier cakes. Lakeland, I'm coming for you!

This cake is perfect for special occasions, a chocolate hazelnut sponge, amaretto coffee buttercream, chocolate meringue sand and a drizzle of chocolate ganache to finish.

Pear and Cardamom Cake with Coffee and Amaretti

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

   I had intended to attend my first Putney Bake Club event last week but couldn't attend due to work commitments. The theme was Harvest Festival so I decided to make this pear and cardamom cake with coffee and an amaretti topping. The kind of cake that's perfect slightly warmed and served with a dollop of custard. Warming and autumnal.

   Said cake was all ready to go, but instead it was left feeling sorry for itself in the kitchen so I thought I'd show it a little attention and post the recipe. Boy Loves Food had even helped me with its little photoshoot, he makes a good assistant.

   Fresh pears make this cake really moist, with a little nuttiness from ground almonds and freshly ground cardamom to lend a little floral hint.

Pear and cardamom cake with coffee and amaretti
(Recipe from Warm Snug Fat...the best baking blog name I have ever seen!)
     175g butter, softened
     175g light muscavado sugar
     3 medium eggs
     50g ground almonds
     1tsp freshly ground cardamom
     175g self raising flour
     2 tbsp espresso coffee
     3 ripe pears, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
     4 amaretti biscuits, roughly crushed
     75g dark chocolate

• Heat the oven to 190 degrees and grease and line a 20 cm loose bottomed tin.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluff.y
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
• Fold in the ground almonds, cardamom, flour, coffee and two thirds of the chopped pears until well combined.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface.
• Scatter the remaining pears and two thirds of the amaretti biscuits over the top and bake for 1 hour until risen and cooked. If you insert a skewer into the centre it should come out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool completely.
• Remove the cake from the tin and place onto a serving plate. Scatter over the remaining biscuits.
• Melt the chocolate and drizzle over the top of the cake.

Devilishly Delicious Deserts: Chocolate Amaretto Pots

Following on from my previous post on these deserts, here's my recipe for chocolate amaretto pots.

Chocolate Amaretto pots
(serves 8-10)
     500ml Devilishly Delicious Pot au Chocolat
     50ml Amaretto liqueur
Pour the chocolate pot pack into a pan and bring to the boil, ensuring to stir regularly. Fold in the Amaretto and pour the mix into your chosen desert pot. Chill for 1-2 hours, or even overnight.

   I made these chocolate pots two ways; in espresso mugs decorated with curls of chocolate and some fresh mint, and in jam jars with a sprinkling of Amaretti biscuits on top and a drizzle of Devilishly Delicious sour cherry coulis.

   I enjoyed thinking of different ideas as to how to best use and present these deserts. The Amaretto is entirely optional, but next time I was thinking of upping the amount used to serve them in the espresso mugs as chocolate shots.

   My previous post explains more about these deserts but you can find them online, in Waitrose and Lakeland and they have a range of different deserts to suit any desert lover.

   I still have Panna Cotta and Créme Brûlée to use...best get planning some ideas as to how I'm going to make them even fancier!