Chocolate Cake with Honey Ganache, Coffee Buttercream and Nori Peanuts

Finally - some (vague) success!

I tend to feel more drawn to seasonal fruits and vegetables when baking - but if the need for chocolate calls, I will always answer the phone.

A casual, passing comment also steered me toward cocoa, my partner exclaiming: “Gab tries to reinvent the wheel, but I just want to eat a classic.”

The flavour profiles here are admittedly still a stretch from traditional, only the chocolate cake keeping it rooted in ‘home cooking’ territory. Aesthetics and combinations are inspired by Nicola of @picnicbakedgoods, with multiple elements coined by the brilliant @natashapickowicz.

Chocolate cake presented a challenge in narrowing down WHICH IS BEST?!, but I eventually went with the ever-reliable Nagi of @recipetin. She is always consistent in both her simplicity and brilliance, and conducts too many trials and errors to allow for failure.

Turns out, however, that her recipe is actually a Hershey’s favourite, which seems to be the point of reference behind many of the most highly rated.

And I can see why, it IS perfect - I adored it. Possibly underbaked out of ~fear of the ~dry, but fudgy texture never hurts.

I am embarrassed to admit that I was blissfully unaware that ganache is only ever a GANACHE when made with chocolate. The idea of ‘toasty honey ganache’ sounded so supremely delicious that I was blinded by lust and assumed a straight substitute would work swimmingly.

So, I caramelised some honey with water and lemon over low heat, treating the mixture a little like jam. It definitely darkened a little but didn’t taste overly different - although I may have been erring too far on the side of caution of burning.

Step 2, ala the standard recipe for almost all ganache, I combined my caramelised honey with equal parts heavy cream. The result tasted lovely but texture wise was no ganache, because honey does not set (duh) - even cold, it was too runny.

I tried whipping the sh*t out of it to no avail, unfortunately - tis not ganache, and never will be anything but honey-flavoured cream. Still, everybody loves a Domino’s lava cake, don’t they? I decided to smear it all through the middle layer anyway.

The buttercream was based on a Beatrix Bakes (I love Natalie!) beauty for a coconut swiss meringue in her renowned blueberry shag.

My first attempt at making it failed miserably, due to me not checking my ingredients and having to half the butter quantity. The second attempt I took a little slower, and looking now, the final result almost appears perfect.

It is very rich, and probably needed at least four times more coffee to stand up to the butter. Still, the texture was divine, and made only with a pair of cheap beaters from the grocery store!

Hazelnuts are impossibly expensive in Japan, so I decided to use the peanuts I had at home. I loosely followed a recipe for rough guidance, but in future would probably double all ingredient quantities.

Surprisingly, I didn’t feel that the nuts added much, although maybe that’s because mine were bland. I am intrigued by the element of ‘crunch’ in cakes, but perhaps the crunch simply needs to be executed properly.

Even still - she looks very pretty, doesn’t she? A mile above the previous bakes in my shabby Tokyo kitchen. Presentation is normally my weak point (I’m usually sick of baking and rush to finish) but I wouldn’t be disappointed if I was served a slice of this sucker at a cafe.

CAKE:

• 265g plain / all purpose flour

• 55g cocoa powder, unsweetened

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda (bi-carb soda)

• 440g white sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 eggs

• 250ml milk (low or full fat)

• 125ml vegetable oil (or canola)

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 250ml boiling water

Preheat oven to 180C°/350°F (160°C fan). Grease 2 x 22cm cake pans with butter, then line the base. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Add sugar and salt. Whisk briefly to combine. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk well to combine until lump free - about 30 seconds. Add boiling water and whisk to incorporate. The batter is VERY thin. Pour batter into cake pans. Bake for 35 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks upside down. Cool completely before frosting.

TOASTED HONEY & CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

COFFEE BUTTERCREAM:

• 200g caster sugar

• 120g egg whites (about 3)

• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

• 400g unsalted butter, softened and diced

• 50ml strong coffee, cooled to room temperature

Stir sugar and 60ml water in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and cook without stirring until sugar syrup reaches 115C on a sugar thermometer (6-7 minutes). Meanwhile, whisk egg white with cream of tartar in an electric mixer until stiff peaks form (6-8 minutes). Turn the mixer off, add a third of the sugar syrup, then whisk on high speed for 10 seconds. Reduce to medium speed and, while whisking, slowly pour in remaining syrup, whisking until the meringue reaches 35C. Add butter a little at a time, whisking to incorporate each addition before adding more. Whisk in coffee. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for 2 days. Stand at room temperature to soften until spreadable.

NORI ROASTED PEANUTS:

• 1 cup peanuts

• 1/2 cup shredded nori

• 2 tbs honey

• Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 175°C. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, besides the nori. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined oven tray and roast for 12 minutes until toasty. Put the roasted nuts back into the bowl, adding the nori, and mix together until all nuts are coated.