Dark Chocolate Gives this Gateau a Sophisticated Flavour - Clarita, Morgue File
Here's a recipe for a gorgeous chocolate dessert - perfect at the end of a romantic Italian meal. It has a generous drop of rum and crunchy walnuts too.
For a delicious end to an Italian meal – served perhaps with a small portion of good vanilla ice cream, or eaten on its own with a cup of coffee, this chocolate gateau is well worth making. The recipe, which appears here with permission, comes from Masterchef presenter Greg Wallace’s cookbook Gregg’s Favourite Puddings (Hamlyn, Octopus Publishing, £17.99). It combines walnuts, rum and chocolate with sultanas in an indulgent mix - perfect as part of a romantic menu.
Chocolate Gateau with Rum and Walnuts – Recipe
Ingredients – Serves 6-8
For the cake:
- 175g (6oz) butter
- 175g (6oz) caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon rum
- 100g (3½ oz) self-raising flour sifted with ½ teaspoon baking powder or plain flour with 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 40g (1½ oz) walnuts, finely chopped
- 40g (1½ oz) digestive biscuits, crushed
For the chocolate filling and topping:
- 75g (3oz) sultanas
- 3 tablespoons rum
- 175g (6 oz) plain or bitter chocolate
- 150g (5 oz) icing sugar, sifted
- 150g (5 oz) butter
- 50g (2oz) walnuts, coarsely chopped
Method
- To make the cake, line a 1kg (2½ lb) loaf tin. Beat the butter and caster sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs with the rum, then gradually beat into the butter mixture, adding a little flour and baking powder if the mixture shows signs of curdling.
- When all the eggs and rum have been incorporated, add the remaining flour, the nuts and biscuit crumbs.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in a preheated over, 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4, for about 45 minutes or until firm to the touch. Meanwhile, soak the sultanas in the rum for the filling and topping.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Split horizontally into 3 layers.
- Break 150g (5 oz) of the chocolate into pieces, put in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water so that the base of the bowl is not touching the water and leave until melted. Coarsely grate the remainder.
- Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a bowl. Add the melted chocolate and beat until light in texture. Add the sultanas, rum and half the walnuts.
- Sandwich the layers together with some of the chocolate and rum mixture. Spread the remainder over the top but not the sides of the gateau. Sprinkle the last of the walnuts and the grated chocolate over the top of the icing. Chill well before serving.
Copyright Rebecca Ford. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Rebecca Ford - I'm a UK based freelance travel writer and photographer - and the country I most like to visit is Italy. That's not just because of the ...
