Valentine’s Day is almost upon us
and, as we know, one can never start planning too early for these Hallmark
holidays! So I decided to mark this particular holiday’s impending arrival with
one of my favorite cakes: Love-Struck Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate
Coconut Filling. The recipe is from my latest book, Flavorful
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015), and it’s the best
Valentine’s Day dessert I can think of – two layers of moist, fudgy chocolate
cake filled with a white chocolate coconut whipped ganache and covered in a
dark chocolate glaze. (Make sure to prep the pan as directed, or you might just
end up with a broken heart, which would be
terribly sad.) If you’re not a
coconut fan (as my own true love is not, though he did somehow manage to choke
down a slice of this particular cake in record time), simply leave it out. You
can substitute shaved chocolate or finely chopped nuts for the coconut as
garnish on the outside of the cake. Finally, please do use a good
quality white
chocolate for the filling—nothing worse than a cheap white chocolate, I say.
Green & Black’s, Lindt, Valrhona or Guittard are excellent brands, in my
book. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Makes one 9-inch cake serving 8
Devil’s
Food Cake:
1 1/2 cups (198 g/7 oz) all-purpose
flour
2/3 cup (74 g/2.6 oz) natural
(not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
1 ¼ teaspoons (6 g/0.22 oz)
baking powder
½ teaspoon (2.5 g/0.09 oz) baking
soda
½ teaspoon (3.3 g/0.02 oz) salt
2 large eggs
1 ¾ cups (350 g/12.3 oz)
granulated sugar
¼ cup (56 g/2 oz) vegetable oil
4 tablespoons (56 g/2 oz)
unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon (4 g/0.14 oz) vanilla
extract
1 ¼ cups (360 g/12.7 oz) brewed
coffee, warm
White
Chocolate Coconut Whipped Ganache:
1 ½ cups (348 g/12.3 oz) heavy
cream
1 cup (90 g/3.16 oz) unsweetened
desiccated coconut
1 cup (170 g/6 oz) chopped
high-quality white chocolate
Chocolate
Glaze:
1 cup (170 g/6 oz) finely chopped
bittersweet chocolate (62%)
¾ cup (174 g/6.13 oz) heavy cream
3 tablespoons (60 g/2.1 oz) light
corn syrup
Garnish:
½ cup (45 g/1.6 oz) unsweetened
desiccated coconut
Make
the cake:
1. Position a rack in the center
of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease
the bottom and sides of two 9-inch heart-shaped (or round) cake pans with
shortening. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper, cut to fit, then
grease the paper. Dust the paper and sides of the pans with flour and tap out
the excess.
2. In a medium bowl, sift
together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to
combine and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric
mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed. Gradually add
the sugar and beat at high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce
the speed to medium and beat in the oil, melted butter and vanilla extract.
Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients in three additions
alternating it with the coffee in two additions, beginning and ending with the
flour, and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula
as necessary. Mix just until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and
give the batter a few stirs with the spatula to make sure it’s completely
blended. Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes,
until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Cool
the cakes in the pan on wire racks for 15 minutes. Unmold the cakes onto the
racks and cool completely.
Make
the ganache:
4. In a small saucepan, combine
the heavy cream and coconut and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.
Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and allow to infuse for 1 hour.
5. Strain the cream (discard the
coconut) and measure it – you should have 1 cup. If you have too much or too
little, adjust the amount accordingly by adding or removing a little cream.
Return the strained cream to the saucepan. Place the chopped chocolate in the
bowl of an electric mixer. Place the cream over medium-high heat and bring to a
gentle boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it stand for 30
seconds. Gently whisk the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and
the mixture is smooth. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the ganache for at least
4 hours, until thickened.
Assemble
the cake:
6. Place one of the cake layers right
side up on a cake plate.
7. Place the bowl containing the
ganache in the mixer stand and, using the whisk attachment, whip at medium-high
speed until soft peaks form (do not overwhip the ganache or it may become
grainy). Spoon 1 cup of the whipped ganache onto the cake layer on the plate
and spread it into an even layer, up the cake edge. Place the second cake layer
on top, upside down. Spread the remaining ganache around the sides of the cake
in a smooth, thin layer to cover the gap between the layers.
Glaze
the cake:
8. Place the chocolate in a
medium bowl. Place the cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a
boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Pour the hot cream over the
chocolate and let it stand 1 minute, then stir until the chocolate is
completely melted and no bits of chocolate cling to the sides of the bowl, at
least 2 minutes. Let the glaze stand for 5 minutes.
9. Lightly spray a wire rack with
non-stick cooking spray. Remove the chilled cake from the refrigerator and
slide it from the cake plate onto the wire rack. Place the wire rack on top of
a baking sheet. Pour the glaze quickly and evenly over the chilled cake,
starting around the top edges to allow the glaze to evenly cover the sides,
then cover the center of the cake. Place the cake, still on the wire rack and baking
sheet, in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour (let the glaze stay on the
baking sheet to chill, too).
Garnish
the cake:
10. Slip 3 strips of waxed paper
under the edge of each section of the cake. Using your hand, pat the coconut
all around the side of the cake. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the
remaining coconut. Remove the waxed paper. Transfer the remaining chilled glaze
into a pastry bag fitted with a plain 3/16-inch tip (Ateco #801). Pipe small
dots of the chilled chocolate glaze around the edge of the top of the cake. Refrigerate
the cake until ready to serve. Serve the cake near, but slightly cooler than,
room temperature.
