Beranbaum and Payard collide in chocolate

"Chocolate is a serious thing!" 

-Counselor Deanna Troi, Start Trek: The Next Generation

  As I have stated before when it comes to sweets, chocolate is not what I crave. I am a caramel, flaky  fruit girl. However, Mr. A  is a full on chocolate freak. SOO with Father's Day here I decided to create the ultimate chocolate explosion. 

 

 
I whipped out my pastry  books and found this one ......Charlie's Chocolate Pudding Cake from Chocolate Epiphany by François Payard.  In his recipe he has a glaze to accompany his cake. I'm sure it is perfect, and  because I can not leave well enough alone, I opted to use Beranbaum's Chocolate lacquer glaze. 

I have been dying to make it since I first saw it posted on Cafe Fernando's blog http://cafefernando.com/lorange/#more-684. His pictures are stunning! He pairs it beautifully with a hazelnut/orange cake.

 my pic, not Fernando's

soo here we go....

Charlie's Chocolate Pudding Cake

Adapted from Chocolate Epiphany by François Payard

- makes one 9-inch cake, serves 8 to 10 -

Ingredients

For the cake:
Vegetable cooking spray, for the pan
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for the pan
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces 50% chocolate, chopped ( I used callebaut)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

For the glaze:
7 ounces 50% chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Procedure

For the cake:

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400ºF. Spray the sides and bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with vegetable cooking spray. Dust it with flour, shaking off the excess, and set aside.

2. Bring the butter to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate to the pan. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and eggs together until just combined. Stir in the chocolate mixture, then the cream. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake for 18 minutes,  in a water bath ..then put a piece of aluminum foil and a baking sheet over the top of the cake, to keep it from rising too much and to keep it moist. Lower the oven temperature to 360ºF and bake for another 20 minutes. The cake will be just set around the edges, and very loose in the middle, like a pudding. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool to room temperature while still in the pan. Place it in the freezer for at least 45 minutes or refrigerate overnight

 In Chocolate Epiphany it mentions baking this cake in a water bath. However, in the printed recipe there is no instruction for this. I did not use a water bath and my center was a little undercooked. Or i could not have baked it long enough? It is hard to tell with this cake.  The center is very "jiggly" when removed , but firms up with cooling. I baked mine non convection for the instructed time. I emailed Chef Payard  on my Facebook for some clarification. Hope he answers :)

AND he did ! !!!!!!

 
For the glaze: ( I did not use this glaze -see below)

5. Combine the chocolate and corn syrup in a small heat-proof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour it over the chocolate. Whisk the chocolate mixture until smooth. Let the glaze stand at room temperature for 5 minutes, then whisk in the butter.

To finish the cake: 

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place a wire cooling rack on top of the paper. Remove the cake from the freezer, and dip the bottom of the pan in hot water to unmold it. You want the pan to be just warm enough for the cake to come out smoothly, but not melt. Flip the pan out onto the rack and tap the pan until the cake pops out.

7. Pour the glaze over the cake, using a spatula to even out the top and help the glaze run down the sides of the cake. Carefully, with a serving spatula, lift the cake from the rack and place it on a serving platter. Allow the cake to come to room temperature for 30 minutes, which will give the glaze time to set up. Using the back of a spoon, lightly tap the top of the cake in a large "figure eight" swirl, going from one end of the cake to the other. Serve at room temperature. 

 

LACQUER GLAZE RECIPE   

Recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “Rose’s Heavenly Cakes”.

Ingredients

Makes 1+1/3 cups

• 1/4 cup cold water
• 2 tsp powdered gelatin
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp corn syrup
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa powder (I used dutch prossed )
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Method

1. Pour 1/4 cup cold water in a small mixing bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top, give it a stir, cover with plastic and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar and 1/3 cup water over medium heat. When the sugar completely melts, take off heat and with the help of a wire whisk, stir in corn syrup, followed by the cocoa. You’ll have a smooth and glossy mixture.
3. Stir in heavy cream with a spatula and return pan to medium heat. Bring the mixture to the boiling point, remove from heat and strain into a metal bowl. Cool until an instant-read thermometer reads 122 – 140 F, for about 15 minutes.
4. Stir in softened gelatin until completely dissolved.
5. Strain the glaze into a 2-cup glass measure bowl and cool until an instant-read thermometer registers 80F (best temperature to glaze the cake; if you’re making this ahead, make sure to reheat to 85 F as it will be thicker.

The cake is moist and fudge-y! The glaze is absolute perfection! The cake and glaze cut perfectly for serving. It is so rich I could only eat two bites. If you love chocolate , this is for you. In my opinion there needs to be some complimentary flavors.( like Cafe Fernando ) between cake and glaze. Different flavors/ or grades of chocolate .

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