Cupid’s Chocolate Cake

Genoes Sponge Cake
4 eggs
1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
5 tbsp (75 mL) unsalted or clarified butter
2/3 cup 165 mL) flour
1 tbsp (15 mL) cocoa powder

Topping
1 1/4 cups (310 mL) whipping cream
few drops vanilla extract
8 oz (225 g) milk chocolate

Preheat oven to 375^oF (190^oC). To make Genoese sponge, place eggs and sugar in a bowl over a pot of hot water. Whisk until mixture leaves a trail when you hold up whisk. Remove from heat and continue whisking until cool.

Melt butter and leave until cool but not set. Sift flour and cocoa together. Gently fold small quantities alternately of flour and melted butter into egg mixture, finishing with flour.

Pour mixture into 2 lined, greased, heart-shaped cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked. Test by lightly touching center of cakes. When cakes feels firm and there are no finger marks, they are cooked. Also, cakes should have shrunk away slightly from sides of pans. Cool cakes on wire rack.

Whip cream with vanilla. Reserve some whipped cream for decoration and use rest to sandwich the cold cakes.

Make chocolate curls for decoration by scraping milk chocolate bar with vegetable peeler. Melt remaining chocolate in a bowl over pan of hot, but not boiling, water and spread over top and sides of cake.

When chocolate has set, pipe cream in a heart shape on top of cake. Pipe three lines of cream from top to bottom of cream heart and top with chocolate curls. Decorate with a red ribbon if desired.

Note : for extra zing, sprinkle 3 tbsp (45 mL) rum or Tia Maria over cookde cakes before decorating (if you like).

Serves 6-8

Source :
Handmade chocolate recipes by Jilly Brain and Dale Wohler
Handmade chocolate tested by Ruth Hewitt
Complied by Juliet Cobb
Tormont Publications Inc., Canada