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This month’s Daring Bakers challenge, a Chocolate Valentino, was terribly apropos for February, the most romantic month in the calendar.
The Chocolate Valentino is a deceptively simple flourless chocolate cake that only has three ingredients: chocolate, butter and eggs. The idea is that you use your favourite chocolate and are gifted in return with a cake that tastes exactly like the chocolate.
I must confess that I didn’t particularly like this cake. Perhaps I did something wrong as it didn’t taste anywhere near as sweet as the chocolate I used and rather than having fudgy texture in the centre, it felt wet. (There was some fudginess going on, but the unpleasant wet texture wiped it away. I don’t think it was under-baked, though.) Still, Lucas was a big fan, so I had at least one happy camper! I wonder if I’m going off chocolate? I seem to be leaning more towards nutty or fruity desserts these days…
I did however adore the ice cream. As our hosts gave us a free rein on that subject, I took the opportunity to try a recipe I’ve had my eye on for a while: Toasted Almond Gelato from Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano, one of my favourite baking books. The scent of toasted almonds lingered intoxicatingly around the house for several days, making me smile every time I came home. It was just wonderful, and slightly less calorific than many other ice creams I’ve made in the past. I couldn’t bear to throw away all of the almonds used to infuse the cream, so I added a few (finely chopped) spoonfuls into the gelato mixture before freezing which gave great texture to the gelato.
Almond and chocolate are a match made in heaven, so it was no surprise to me that the gelato managed to elevate the chocolate cake into something much more pleasant. I can’t help wondering what I did wrong, and what it should have tasted like. Divine, I should imagine…
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
Don’t forget to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll for other fabulous creations!
Chocolate Valentino
- 454g of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 146 grams total unsalted butter
- 5 large eggs
Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 190C
Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
Toasted Almond Gelato
Source: Dolce Italiano, Gina DePalma. (W. W. Norton & Co, 2007)
- 1 cup (100g) sliced blanched almonds
- 1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) whole milk
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80g) granulated sugar
- 1 heaping tablespoon flavorful honey, such as clover or millifiori
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons amaretto
- 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
Preheat oven to 190C. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a clean baking sheet and toast them for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are golden brown and aromatic.
Remove the almonds from the oven and place them in a medium saucepan. Add the heavy cream, milk, sugar, and honey and place over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
When the mixture comes to a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to infuse the liquid with the flavor of the almonds.
Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then strain it through a chinois ro fine-meshed sieve and discard the almonds. Stir in the salt, amaretto, and almond extract.
Chill the gelato thoroughly in a covered container, at least 3 to 4 hours. Freeze it in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
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Beautiful job, Angela..love your plating too and the almond flavored ice cream sounds delicious, a must try!
That said, I also found the cake not as sweet as I expected, and I actually preferred my part white chocolate Valentino to the all chooolate Valentino.
Thanks, Lisa! Definitely try the ice cream… it was fabulous!
I think a little sugar would have really helped the cake, and would have stabilised the egg whites, perhaps resulting in less sunken cakes. I’m not in a rush to try this one again and find out. I think I prefer my flourless chocolate cakes with ground almonds and sugar
Your cake looks delicius, and the ice cream sounds lovely (never had toasted almond flavored ice cream, so I must try it!)
Thanks, Naama! I can totally recommend the ice cream
Nice gelato and great job!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks, Rosa!
I didn’t love this cake either. In fact, I still have half of it in the freezer but I think I’ll likely toss it out.
Nice plating, btw!
Thanks, Dana! I’m really surprised that so many other people weren’t blown away by this cake either. I guess not everything with chocolate is automatically wonderful. (And doesn’t it sound crazy to say such a thing?)
Toasted almond ice-cream sounds delicious.
I like chocolate and brownies but this cake was neither. It was good, but I think that’s the chocolate part. A bit too dense.
Thank-you, Aparna!
Ditto on the not liking it so much. As for your gelato… gmmegimmegimme! Good job!
If we hadn’t scoffed the rest of the gelato ourselves—leaving the chocolate cake to Lucas, I might add—I’d be happy to share!
Almond ice cream sounds fantastic it would have gone nicely with this cake!
Thank-you
It really did!
Ang, that is genius pairing it with a toasted almond ice cream! I never thought of it but yes of course it’s such a good match!
Thanks, Lorraine! I figured that if I was going to break the diet for the Daring Bakers then I might as well make something I’d had my eye on for a while
ummm this is a great looking cake. love the ice cream too. a great idea!
Meeta, you always say the loveliest things. Thank-you!
I didn’t really like the cake either – I found the only I way I enjoyed it is if I heated it up a bit and ate it with melting ice cream. It made it much softer & more interesting in the mouth.
Fingers crossed the next challenge is more to our liking!
Hmmm, someone seem like really enjoy your creation. Your presentation is really beautiful as well.
Cheers,
Elra
I agree that the cake was a little much. I was glad it wasn’t sweet (I always say I like my chocolate so dark and bitter it doesn’t taste like chocolate anymore) but it was definitely too rich and chocolatey overall. Nice in little bites, not so much for a whole cake. The first taste was quite a surprise!
Almond gelato is a great idea, though. Mmm, gelato!
i will take some toasted almond gelato please
love to see kids eat dessert!
It always amuses me how much dessert can motivate kids. Suddenly motor-skills improve and not a scrap hits the floor, and I hear very prpper sentences: “Can Lucas have some chocolate cake, please?”
You’d be very welcome to some gelato if there was any left over! Next time, for sure
Looks lovely, you always do such a wonderful job at plating.
I periodicly go off of chocolate, though, we seem to be in the midst of a fling at the moment. Given the choice I almost always choose fruity desserts.
Beautiful job on the cake and plate presentation. The toasted almond gelato looks amazing!
Your toasted almond gelato sound outstanding!
Mmm… will try your gelato some time. Nice to come home to wonderful aromas, isn’t it?
It has been fun reading about everyone’s results. I think your photo looks the best I have seen so far.
Such a beautiful posting! That gelato seems to be calling my name.
Toasted almond gelato sounds sooo good! Maybe I should consider getting an ice cream maker…
What a shame you didn’t like the cake, at least you had someone more than happy to polish it off. The toasted almond ice cream sounds divine!
The gelato recipe you chose sounds really delicious. Maybe the cake just couldn’t stand up to it!
Shame you didn’t like the cake, it’s not my favourite too, but I’m still more than happy to eat it. Your flavour pairing sounds delish! great plating too =)
I know exactly what you mean – I’ve been pondering of late if I’m going off chocolate a bit; I’d far rather have a cake with some fresh fruit! Maybe I’m getting old……
Hi Angela, please pass by my blog and collect an award ;o)
Maria
x
Your plating is so pretty! The toasted almond gelato sounds fantastic; I’ll have to add it to my list of things to make.
Your cake looks beautiful, but I’m simply taken in by your adorable baby!