Kirsten Tibballs shares a delicious six-layer chocolate ganache cake for ‘World Chocolate

Kirsten Tibballs is known as the country’s chocolate queen.

And on Sunday, she visited Weekend Sunrise to create a six-layer chocolate cake.

Tibballs will be appearing at Perth’s Good Food and Wine Show.

As a special for Weekend Sunrise viewers they show is doing a 2 for 1 deal for the Perth ‘Good Food & Wine Show’ all you have to do is use the code SUNRISE2FOR1.

This will be a 2-for-1 offer capped at 1000 tickets and will last for 1 week from Sunday and set to expire on the Sunday, 14th of July.

Recipe below:

Decadent chocolate layer cake with milk chocolate curls

From Chocolate All Day, by Kirsten Tibballs.

The ultimate, most unashamed, elaborate display of chocolate. If I had to describe this cake in one word, it would be: lush.

Layers of lust-worthy chocolate cake brushed with an irresistibly pleasure-seeking chocolate soak, crowned with lashings of decadent chocolate ganache and adorn with milk chocolate curls.

This is truly chocolate royalty and a must-make.

Serves: 12-15

CHOCOLATE CAKE

vegetable oil spray, for greasing

420 g plain flour

105 g dutch processed cocoa powder

13 g bicarbonate soda

1 tsp baking powder

420 g caster sugar

1 tsp salt

115 g coconut oil

100 g whole eggs

120 g buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

120 g hot water

Method

1. Grease two 180mm cake tins with vegetable oil spray, then line with baking paper.
2. Heat the oven to 150°C, fan forced.
3. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate soda and baking powder into a bowl, add the sugar and salt then set aside.
4. Beat the coconut oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla for 1 minute.
5. Add the sieved ingredients, sugar and salt and mix until just combined.
6. Slowly stream in the hot water while continuing to mix.
7. Transfer the batter evenly between the 2 prepared cake tins, then bake for 50-55 minutes, until a skewer is inserted and comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool at room temperature before placing into the freezer for a minimum of 60 minutes.
9. Using a serrated edged knife, trim the top off the chilled cakes, then cut each cake into 3 equal layers. Set aside until required.

NOTES:

The coconut oil can be substituted for the same quantity of vegetable oil.

To make your own buttermilk, combine 120ml of full cream milk with 4 ml of fresh lemon juice and allow to stand for 5 minutes before using.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE GANACHE

540 g fresh cream 35% fat

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

60 g liquid glucose

1140 g, good-quality milk chocolate

1. Place the cream, vanilla and glucose into a small saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. Meanwhile, place the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second increments until it is half melted.
3. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has completely melted and combined.
4. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ganache and allow to sit at room temperature for approximately 3 hours, until it is firm but still spreadable.

CHOCOLATE SOAK

100 g water

100 g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder

Method

1. Place the water, sugar, and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from the heat, add the cocoa powder and whisk until there are no lumps remaining.
3. Set aside to cool completely at room temperature.

MILK CHOCOLATE CURLS

250g good-quality milk chocolate

Method:

1. Temper the chocolate by placing it into a microwave-safe plastic bowl, and heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between. Once you have 50% solids and 50% liquid, stir vigorously until the solids have completely melted. If you have some resistant buttons, you can gently heat the chocolate with a hair dryer while stirring.
2. Spread a small amount of the tempered chocolate into a thin layer over a stone workbench. Work the chocolate backwards and forwards until it begins to go dull.
3. Using a metal scraper, or the blade of a knife, scrape the chocolate to create different shaped curls.
4. Allow to set at room temperature.

ASSEMBLY

1. Place the first layer of chocolate cake onto a serving plate.
2. Brush the surface of the cake generously with the prepared chocolate soak.
3. Spread a sixth of the prepared ganache over the cake, pushing it towards the cake edges.
4. Repeat with the remaining cake layers, chocolate soak and ganache.
5. Top with the prepared chocolate curls.

NOTE: The cake can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Allow the cake to come back to room temperature before serving.

TIPS:

• To create even layers, marks around the cake where you will cut it and cut while turning the cake until you reach the centre.
• Once you have cut the cake into layers, place them into the freezer which will make handling and assembling easier.
• Use one of the cake bases, base facing upwards, as the top layer of the cake. This will ensure a flat surface on top.
• Don’t let the ganache become too firm before layering the cake. It should be used at a spreadable consistency.

WOW!:

• Elevate the presentation by dusting the chocolate curls with gold lustre dust.

Shelf life: This cake can be made and stored for up to 5 days in the fridge. Let it come back to room temperature before eating.