Devil's Food Cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 125 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 125 g crème fraîche
• 175 g cane sugar, light
• 300 g flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 125 g butter, room temperature
• 200 g sugar, fine
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 175 ml water, lukewarm
• 150 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 150 g chocolate (milk), finely chopped
• 250 g crème fraîche

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

Chocolate cake

Place the chopped chocolate, crème fraîche, and brown sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Do not allow to get hot. Remove from the heat and set aside. Cream the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually stir in the caster sugar. Gradually add the egg yolks and incorporate, followed by the vanilla extract. Sift together the flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Add a tablespoon at a time to the butter mixture, alternating with water. If using a hand mixer, use a low speed and stir gently. Once well blended, stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold in. The original recipe calls for the batter to be poured into 20cm springform pans. However, the cake is then about 15cm high because it will be baking three layers. I use a 26cm springform pan and only make two layers. Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 180°C (gas mark 2-3) for about 25 minutes. Let it cool completely, then turn out onto a wire rack, remove the paper, and let it cool completely. For the glaze and filling, melt the dark and milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (do not let the hot water touch the bottom of the bowl). Remove the bowl from the pan, beat the chocolate until smooth, and stir in the crème fraîche. Let it rest until the mixture is thick and spreadable. Spread the chocolate mixture over the cake layers and sandwich the layers together, with the coated portion on top. Spread the remaining glaze over the sides. This cake is a suitable dessert for a festive meal. Because it is high in calories, perhaps the starter and main course should be slightly lower in calories.