This is a beautiful summer desert, best served chilled. It's the cake-version of tiramisu consisting of a decadent chocolate sponge covered with sweet coffee syrup, a soft mascarpone-zabaione and a crisp melt-in-the-mouth hazelnut butter base.
My family and I made this 'cake' for Easter Sunday and let's just say, it went down a treat. I used spiced rum liquor for both the zabaione and the coffee syrup but any sort of rum or brandy works equally as well - make sure to use liberally though ;)
I also made some extra sponge to create these little tartlets - so cute!
It is a bit of a palaver to make and you sure do need so many eggs. Despite this, we all loved making it and sometimes the whole process is part of the fun. It can be divided into 3 different tasks, one for each cook, or alternatively on your own. Just take a deep breathe before the recipe, it's a long one!
Time: about 4 hours + 4hrs chilling at end
Serves 8-12
Hazelnut butter crust
75g toasted/roasted nuts, crushed in food processor - I used hazelnuts but any will do
180g plain flour
30g caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
150g unsalted butter, cold and diced
Put the crushed nuts, flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the chilled butter into the dry ingredients like you would making pastry until it resembles large breadcrumbs.
Add 25ml ice cold water to the buttery flour and continue mixing with your hands, lightly bringing the dough together.
Loosely wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 15 mins.
Once the dough has chilled, place it onto a floured surface and gently roll out into a rough 35cm circle to fit your tart tin. Try to handle the dough as little as possible to prevent it warming up or becoming over-worked. Carefully lift the dough into the tart tine using the rolling pin and tuck the dough into the edges, then roll of the excess.
Put in the freezer for 1 hr before blind baking. For individual tins, follow the same process but with smaller circles.
To blind bake, preheat oven to 160℃ fan. Cover the frozen dough with foil and fill with sugar or blind baking beans. Bake for 40-45 mins (25 mins for individual tins) until the crust is a biscuity brown.
Mascarpone-zabaione
1 egg
5 egg yolks
70ml spiced rum - or brandy/sweet marsala if you prefer
70g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
750g mascarpone, chilled
Fill a medium saucepan with 5cm water (making sure the bowl you will be using doesn't touch the water). Bring to a low simmer.
Put the egg, egg yolks, rum, sugar, vanilla extract, cream of tartar and a pinch of salt in a heatproof bowl.
Place the bowl on top of the pan of water and immediately start whisking to avoid lumps, using a tea towel to protect yourself against the steam. Whisk for about 1 mins, putting 80% of your energy into the first minute. After this is, the foam will be frothy. Turn the heat to low and continue whisking for another 2 mins or until it looks pale and creamy.
If there are lumps: it's cooking too fast and scrambling so take the bowl off the pan whisking vigorously or a splash of cold milk can reduce the heat immediately too.
If too thin: return to the heat if it needs to thicken more.
The zabaione should be ready when you can draw your initials and they are readable for 8s before it sinks.
Remove from the heat and cool at room temperature, whisking occasionally for 10 mins, until tepid.
Once the zabaione is tepid, add 1/3 of the mascarpone and slowly massage in using a stiff spatula. It should only just mix in - keep it streaky. Add the remaining 2/3, adding one-third at a time.
After the last addition, give the mixture a through mix and chill until ready for assembly.
Chocolate sponge
3 eggs, split into whites and yolks
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
80g caster sugar
50g plain flour
15g unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
8g unsalted butter
25ml milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 150℃ fan. Lightly spray a 24cm cake tin with cooking spray oil and line the bases with baking paper.
Put the egg whites and cream of tartar into a mixing bowl and beat using an electric mixer for 3 mins, until the whites form stiff peaks. Once glossy, add the sugar, tbsp at a time, until you have a stiff meringue.
Heat the butter and milk in a small saucepan until just boiling, then remove from the heat. Add the vanilla extract, stir to combine and set aside to cool.
In a separate bowl, put in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and a pinch of salt, gently mix together with your fingers then set aside.
Back to the meringue, add the egg yolks and beat on a high speed for 5 seconds. Scrap down the sides and sift in half of the flour mix. Fold in gently with a balloon whisk, until well incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour mix.
Working quickly, pour the warm butter and milk mix around the edge of the bowl and fold in gently with the balloon whisk, until the batter is well mixed but still fluffy.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 15-18 mins, until a knife comes out clean from the middle.
Cool the tins on a wire rack for 2 mins, then cut around the sides and flip out. Remove the paper and invert them so they're top-side up. Leave to cool completely for 40 mins.
Coffee syrup
30ml strong black coffee
1/2 tsp demerara sugar
splash of rum
Combine all the ingredients together and set aside.
TO ASSEMBLE
Remove the sides of the tart tin from the nutty crust but keep the bottom attached.
Cut the chocolate sponge in half.
Layer the tart as follows: smooth 1/3 mascarpone onto the base of the crust, lay one half of the sponge on top, them brush with coffee syrup. Then 1/3 mascarpone, the remaining sponge, brush of coffee syrup and the last of the mascarpone. Smooth the top.
Chill for 4 hours.
To serve, dust cocoa powder on the top with a sieve and scatter grated chocolate on top or sprinkle with dried rose petals and add halved hazelnuts.
RECIPE: from 'Food and Travel' magazine May 2020, p.123
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