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Susan Jung

My desserts tend to be tarts and simple cakes that are quick and need little decoration. Sometimes, though, an impressive, labour-intensive creation is needed. I made this cake for a celebration and, after a few tweaks, I am now satisfied with it.
Chocolate layer cake with salted caramel, praline and caramelised hazelnuts
The layer-cake recipe is based on one in Rose's Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum; the caramel recipe is from The Last Course by Claudia Fleming.
Chocolate layer cake:
45 grams unsweetened Dutch-process (alkalised) cocoa powder
120ml boiling water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
45ml room-temperature water
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
160 grams cake flour or bleached all-purpose flour, sifted
200 grams super-fine sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
115 grams unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into small pieces
30ml canola or safflower oil
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Spray a 20cm spring-form pan with pan coating and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
Whisk the cocoa powder with the boiling water until smooth, then cool. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract and room-temperature water.
Use an electric mixer to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter, oil and cocoa mixture and stir on low speed. Turn the mixer speed to medium and beat for 90 seconds, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl. Turn the mixer speed to medium-low, add half the egg mixture and stir until combined, then beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl then repeat with the remaining egg mixture. Pour the batter into the pan, level out the surface and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the cake is done: it will smell fragrant and when you lightly touch the surface of the cake with your fingertip, it won't leave an indentation. Cool the cake in the pan.
Salted caramel:
400 grams granulated sugar
80 grams light corn syrup
120 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
120ml cream, at room temperature
30ml creme fraiche, at room temperature
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Put the sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan and stir in 100ml of cold water. Put the pan on a medium-high flame and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Put a tight-fitting lid on the pan and simmer for a few minutes then remove the lid and simmer the mixture without stirring until it turns deep amber. As the caramel cooks, occasionally swirl the pan so it colours evenly. Turn off the heat and immediately stir in the butter, cream and creme fraiche, taking care not to get burned (the mixture bubbles and splatters, and the steam is very hot). Stir in the salt and cool until spreadable.
Crunchy praline and caramelised hazelnuts:
120 grams granulated sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice, strained
120 grams whole hazelnuts
Lightly spray two sheets of aluminium foil and two forks with pan coating and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Bake the hazelnuts until fragrant and toasted. Rub the hazelnuts between your hands to loosen the skins. Discard the skins and set aside 12 whole hazelnuts for the garnish. Use a food processor to grind the remaining hazelnuts until roughly crushed.
Put the sugar in a saucepan and stir in the lemon juice and 60ml cold water. Place over a medium-high flame and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for a few minutes. Remove the lid and simmer until the sugar caramelises to a pale-medium amber. Remove from the heat. Working quickly, use the forks to dip the whole hazelnuts into the caramel and place them on the oiled foil. When the hazelnuts have been dipped, put the pan back on the heat and cook until the mixture turns a medium-dark amber. Stir in the crushed hazelnuts then scrape this mixture onto the second sheet of oiled foil. Cool then crush to a rough powder in a food processor. Put the praline and caramelised hazelnuts in separate air-tight containers.
Ganache for the filling and icing:
225ml cream
250 grams bittersweet chocolate with a cacao content of at least 60 per cent, finely chopped
Heat the chocolate in a microwave, stirring with a rubber spatula every 30 seconds until it's 80 per cent melted. Stir as the residual heat melts the rest of the chocolate. When the chocolate is completely smooth, heat the cream until it's lukewarm. Add about 50ml of the cream to the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the remaining cream, whisking constantly to create a smooth, glossy emulsion. Cool until spreadable.
Sugar syrup:
50 grams granulated sugar
75ml boiling water
About 20ml cognac, brandy or rum
Dissolve the sugar in boiling water then cool to lukewarm. Stir in the alcohol.
To assemble the cake, remove the sides of the spring-form pan, take the cake from the base, peel off the parchment paper and put the cake on a flat surface. Wash and dry the spring-form pan and reassemble it. Use a long serrated knife to trim off the domed top of the cake; discard this part. Cut the remaining cake into three even layers. Put the top layer into the spring-form pan. Brush the surface evenly with syrup, spread with a thin, smooth layer of ganache then chill for 15 minutes. Spread a 5mm thick layer of caramel over the ganache, sprinkle lightly with some of the praline then add the second layer of cake. Repeat the layering with ganache, caramel and praline. Top with the third layer of cake. Invert this final layer, so what was once the bottom - the smoothest part of the cake - is now uppermost. Brush with syrup and spread with a thin layer of ganache. Chill the cake - still in the pan - for about an hour, or until the layers are set.
Remove the outer ring of the spring-form pan but leave the cake on the base. Use a metal offset spatula to smoothly ice the top and sides of the cake with the ganache. Put some of the praline on the lower edge of the cake, then chill until the icing is set. Use a pastry bag fitted with a decorating tip to pipe ganache over the top of the cake then add the 12 caramelised hazelnuts.
Styling: Corner Kitchen Cooking School
 


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Celebration cake recipe: chocolate layer cake with salted caramel, praline and caramelised hazelnuts

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}To make a special occasion memorable, invest some time and effort in an extravagant chocolate cake

To make a special occasion memorable, invest some time and effort in an extravagant chocolate cake