English Apple Cake

Nothing beats a homemade apple cake with chunks of sweet fruit. Try this hearty recipe and surprise your kids with a scrumptious afternoon tea treat when they arrive home after school.

Ingredients:
225r self-raising flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
115r unsalted butter, diced and chilled, plus extra for greasing
115r light brown sugar
1 large egg, beaten
6-8 tbsp milk
225r Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced
100gr raisins
2 tbsp brown sugar with some cinnamon (optional)

Preparation:
Heat the oven to 180C.
1.) Grease and line a deep 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
2.) Mix the flour and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
3.) Add the butter and rub into the flour using your fingers, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4.) Stir in the light brown sugar.
5.) Beat in the egg followed by 6 - 8 tbsp of milk – you want to achieve a smooth, thick batter.
6.) Add the apples and raisins and mix to combine.
7.) Scrape the batter into your prepared tin and gently level out.
8.) Sprinkle over the brown sugar and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool further. Best served still warm with a little custard.

Candy Corn Macaroons

It is not easy to get a hold of Candy Corn in this part of the world but I have found a way to put a French twist to my Candy Corn craving. The macaroons are both festive and delicious, making them the perfect sweet treat for the Halloween celebration.

The recipe sounds more complicated than it is. I have had lots of fun making these with my daughter.

Ingredients for Macaroon:
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
Yellow food colouring

Ingredients for Vanilla Buttercream:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar
pinch of sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Orange food coloring

Preparations:
1.) In a stand mixer combine the butter, sugar, sea salt and vanilla. Whip until smooth and light, this takes about 5 minutes. Tint with orange food colouring. Voilà, your buttercream is ready.
2.) Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.
3.) Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.
4.) Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) on medium high speed to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts. You don't want to whip the egg whites too quickly, this should take a good 5 to 7 minutes.
5.) Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper and mix just until everything is combined then stop and divide the batter in half. Tint one half of the batter with yellow colouring.
6.) Fold each of the mixtures with a rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.
7.) Transfer the mixtures into separate piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.
8.) Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.

9.) While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
10.) Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.
11.) Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.
12.) Sort into pairs and fill with Vanilla Buttercream.

Strawberry and Peach Crumble

This is a recipe that hits close to home. As a child I used to eat many a crumble for pudding. Apple, Rhubarb, Gooseberries, Peach or Strawberries. Anything goes and it is so much fun to make the crumble with those little hands.

Ingredients:
Filling:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 large lemon)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound medium strawberries, halved
1 1/2 pounds yellow or white peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup light brown sugar
Crumble:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter in 1/2-inch cubes

Preparations:
1.)  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.
For the filling:
2.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and all-purpose flour until smooth.
3.) Add the strawberries, peaches and brown sugar. Gently toss until the fruit is coated.
4.) Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared pan.
For the crumble:
5.) In a bowl combine the flour, oats, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt.
6.) Add the softened butter and mix by hand until texture becomes crumbly.
7.) Sprinkle the mixture over the filling and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the top is light golden.
8.) Cool the crumble for 5 minutes.

Spoon the warm crumble into bowls and serve with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.

Raspberry and Prosecco Tiramisù

Discover an exotic twist to a traditional Italian dessert made with mascarpone, red fruits and ladyfinger biscuits, soaked in prosecco, a sparkling Italian white wine. An elegant and tasty summer dessert.

Ingredients: (6 persons)
50 gr caster sugar
3 egg yolks
125 gr Mascarpone
20 cl full liquid cream
200 gr fresh raspberries
30 gr caster sugar
20 cl water
12 Ladyfinger biscuits
15 cl Prosecco

Preparation:
For the cream:
1.) In a bowl, add the egg yolks to the sugar with a whisk, eventually adding the mascarpone with a spatula.
2.) Whip the cream and gently add it to the mascarpone cream.
3.) Pour the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and refrigerate.

For the raspberry coulis:
4.) Mash the raspberries with a small mixer. Add the sugar and water and whisk briskly.
5.) Pass the juice through a sieve to separate the juice from the raspberry pulp.

For biscuits:
6.) Mix the prosecco and half the fresh raspberry juice.
7.) Place biscuits in a bowl and cover/soaking them with the juice.
8.) Prepare the Tiramisu in cocktail glasses: start with a layer of biscuits, then pour some raspberry pulp over it. Add a layer of cream. Continue filling the glasses and ending with a layer of cream.
9.) Let cool for 30 minutes.

To serve:
10.) Prune raspberries. Place one half in center of each glass, then drizzle with raspberry puree.

Student's Banana Cake

‘Afternoon tea’ is something terribly British and I love to keep up this tradition on a daily basis. Unfortunately, with the busy and hectic lifestyles we now lead this is not always easy. This recipe will take 20 minutes out of our day and let you indulge in a little ‘you’ time for a slice of cake and a cuppa.

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas (over-ripe is best) Please make sure you crush these to mush before adding in!
170gr caster sugar
170gr self raising flour
170gr soft margarine
3 eggs
a few drops of vanilla essence
a table spoon of cinnamon (optional)

Preparation:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C .
2. Add all the ingredients to a bowl but sieve the flour and add in gently, folding in with a wooden spoon.
3. Pour the mixture into a well greased cake tin or lined loaf tin (depending on how you want your cake to look).
4. Bake for one hour, checking every 15-20 minutes to make sure you don’t over-cook it!
5. Pull out of the oven; put a knife through the cake and check the knife comes out clear, if it does, the middle is cooked, if it looks gooey, place back into the oven but perhaps lower the heat slightly.
6. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes, cut, serve and enjoy!

Tip: If you fancy a more nutty texture, add some crushed walnuts to the recipe before pouring into your chosen tin of choice…about 60gr should do the trick!

Swiss Chocolate Almond Cake

This has got to be one of my favourite combinations: chocolate with almonds. Make sure the chocolate is good quality and you cannot go wrong with this recipe. YUM!

Ingredients:
200 gr butter, softened
200 gr sugar
1 pinch salt
6 egg yolks
200 gr Chocolat Noir 64%, crumbled
120 gr flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
100 gr ground almonds
6 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Preparation: 
1.) Whisk butter, sugar, salt and egg yolks with hand mixer until the mixture turns paler.
2.) Melt chocolate in a double boiler, add.
3.) Mix flour, baking powder and almonds, fold into the mixture.
4.) Fold stiffly beaten egg whites into the dough, pour mixture into the prepared cake form.
5.) Bake approx. 45 minutes in the middle of oven preheated to 180°C.

Fruit fools

You can make fruit fools with any fruit soft enough to mash with a fork. Here you can see how to make strawberry or banana fool. The amount of fruit shown for either sort will make 4 small fools.

Ingredients:
220 gr strawberries
2 small bananas
25 gr caster sugar
1/4 litre yoghurt or double cream
wedge of lemon

For decoration:
chocolate drops, glacé cherries, sliced kiwi, biscuits

Preparation:
1.) Cut the strawberries in half or peel and slice the bananas.
2.) Put the fruit in the bowl and mash it with a fork until it is smooth.
3.) Whisk the yoghurt or cream until it is thick and creamy.
4.) Add this and the sugar to the mashed fruit. Stir them well.
5.) Pour the fruit mixture into the serving dishes or glasses. Decorate them however you like making suns, flowers or animal faces!

Pavlova

It’s the new trend of the Parisiennes. The pavlova, an airy dessert by excellence « meringue + whipped cream + red fruit» pays homage to the famous Russian dancer. An ultra-light and delicate dessert, naturally!

Ingredients:
For the meringue:
2 egg whites
110 gr of powdered sugar
1 dash of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of corn starch
For the chantilly:
25 cl of liquid fleurette cream
2 tablespoons of mascarpone
2 tablespoons of glazed sugar
For the decor:
200 gr of red fruit (raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries…)
10 cl of raspberry topping

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180° C.

1.) In a salad bowl, beat the egg whites into snow peaks and the powdered sugar.
2.) Incorporate the lemon juice and the starch, mix delicately.
3.) On a plaque covered with waxed cooking paper, form 4 meringue circles. Using the back of a spoon dipped in water, create a slight dos hollow at the centre of the meringues.
4.) Lower the thermostat to 120 °C. Bake for 1 hour, turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and allow the meringue to dry for at least 2 hours.
5.) In a stainless steel bowl, beat the cold cream into a firm chantilly, incorporate the glazed sugar and the mascarpone, very delicately.
6.) Divide the chantilly on the pavlovas. Decorate them with fresh fruit and eventually add a topping.

Brownie Raspberry trifle

A smashing Valentine's recipe easy and fast to prepare and sure to make an impact!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
8 baked brownies, crumbled into pieces (about 2 cups)
2 cups fresh raspberries or dark sweet cherries, pitted
1 cup chocolate ice cream topping
Unsweetened chocolate shavings (optional)

Preparation:
1.) In a chilled large mixing bowl combine whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form; set aside.
2.) Divide half of the crumbled brownies between 4 large parfait glasses or water goblets.
3.) Divide half of the raspberries, ice cream topping, and whipped cream between the glasses, creating layers.
4.) Repeat layers with remaining brownies, raspberries, ice cream topping, and whipped cream.
5.) If desired, sprinkle with chocolate shavings.
6.) Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 4 hours.

One bowl apple cake

This cake is so moist and rich and just perfect for this time of year. Supereasy to make!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup oil
6 medium Gala or Fuji or Honey Crisp apples
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.

1.) In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, cinnamon and oil.
2.) Peel and slice the apples and add to mixture in bowl (coating as you go to keep apples from turning brown.)
3.) Mix together the baking powder and flour and add to the ingredients in the bowl.
4.) Mix well (best with a fork) until all of the flour is absorbed by the wet ingredients.
5.) Pour mixture into a greased one 9x13 or two 9″ round pans.
6.) Bake for approximately 55 minutes.

Chocolate cake

Nothing tops a real Swiss chocolate cake. This is a recipe we use for all the kids' birthday cakes. It never fails! Yummy and scrumptious. You could also adapt it for a Valentine's Day cake.

Ingredients:
150 gr margarine
230 gr sugar
6 eggs
1 pinch of salt
5 gr of vanilla sugar
200 gr dark chocolate (e.g. Crémant)
125 gr ground almonds
125 gr ground plain biscuits
375 gr powder sugar
4 tablespoons chocolate powder

Preparation:
1.) Stir margarine until foam-like.
2.) Add sugar, yolk of the 6 eggs, salt and vanilla sugar, stir again.
3.) Melt chocolate with 3 tablespoons of hot water and add to the mixture.
4.) Add almonds and biscuits.
5.) Whip the whites until stiff, add to the mixture and mix well.
6.) Grease mold with butter, pour mixture into 24 cm diameter cake mould.
7.) Bake on lowest position in oven at 180°C for 50 to 60 minutes.

Frosting:
1.) Mix powder sugar with 4 tablespoons of water. Put 1 tablespoon aside.
2.) Add chocolate powder to the rest of the mixture, add a few drops of water and stir.
3.) Let cake cool off after baking. Pour chocolate mixture evenly over cake.
4.) Form a small, funnel-shaped paper with a tiny opening. Put the mixture set aside beforehand into paper cone and draw 8 concentric circles on cake.
5.) Use a small knife and pull 8 lines from the center towards the edge and 8 lines from the edge towards the center alternating.

Carrot muffins

No Swiss gourmet journey would be complete without indulging the sweet tooth. All over Switzerland fruit is featured in many desserts, such as incredibly flavorful fruit tarts and fresh berries with whipped cream. However, vegetables can make delicious sweet dishes as well. Following is one of my daughters favourite recipes that we enjoy preparing and devouring together: Carrot muffins

Ingredients:
50gr butter
120gr sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
1dl milk
200gr grated carrots
150gr ground almonds
100gr flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 180°C

1.) Melt butter
2.) Place into a large mixing bowl along with sugar, salt and beaten eggs
3.) Mix well with a wooden spoon or electric mixer.
4.) Pour milk into mixture
5.) Add grated carrots. Mix well.
6.) Add ground almonds, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda
7.) Place patty cases into muffin pan.
8.) Place heaped tablespoonfuls of mixture into pan.
9.) Bake for 25 minutes until cooked through. Do not overcook.

Let muffins cool down and decorate with marzipan carrots and a whole load of fantasy!

French Apple Pie

Yet another delicious apple pie recipe, you might think. If you were in France you could purchase this delicious treat from any number of patisserie stores from Paris to Provence.  If not, this recipe is as close to the taste and texture of what you would enjoy in France and it’s so simple to make.

Ingredients:
1 puff pie pastry
3 - 4 apples
50 gr powdered sugar
200 ml or 1 brick of liquid cream
2 eggs
1 table spoon vanilla sugar
1-2 table spoon dark rhum

Preparation:
1.) Preheat your oven to 180 ° C
2.) Take a puff pastry base and lay it out in a pie dish
3.) Cut apples into strips and drop nicely onto pastry until the pie is filled
4.) Sprinkle apples with powdered sugar
5.) In a bowl you mix liquid cream, two eggs and vanilla sugar (you have to taste to know if you have to put more or not)
6.) Add a cap of dark rhum (optional)
7.) Pour mixture into pie.
8.) Bake pie in the oven for 25 minutes.

You can lower the temperature to 150°C, and sprinkle your pie again with a little bit of sugar to caramelise it and let bake it for 15 minutes.

Gabriella's Coffee Cake

This is a cake that is easy and fast to whip up. It presents well and will impress your tea guests with it's taste and presentation. Kids and adults love it!

Ingredients:
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
4 cups flour, plus 3 tsp.
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup dark brown sugar
5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans

Preparations:
1.) Heat oven to 300°.
2.) Grease a 9½" bundt pan and set aside
3.) Whisk 4 cups flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl; set aside
4.) In another bowl, using an electric hand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy
5.) Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
6.) Add sour cream and vanilla and mix well to combine
7.) With the motor running, slowly add dry ingredients until smooth; set aside
8.) In another bowl, combine remaining flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
9.) Starting and ending with the batter, layer in bundt pan with sugar mixture to form five layers.
10.) Sprinkle with pecans and bake 1½ hours until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Crêpes Suzettes

Pancake day requires a recipe of Crêpes Suzette! The pancakes are crêpes Suzette prepared with a caramel flavored orange sauce. Made simple, this recipe will delight the whole family.

For the crêpes

Ingredients:
110gr plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
2 eggs
200m milk mixed with 75ml water
50gr butter
1 medium orange, grated zest only
1 tbsp caster sugar

Preparation:
1.) Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl
2.) Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs.
3.) Gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don't worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk).
4.) Melt butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using a brush or piece of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake.
5.) Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the batter.
6.) Heat the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and as soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be.
7.) Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate. If the pancakes look a little bit ragged in the pan, no matter because they are going to be folded anyway. You should end up with 15-16 crêpes.

For the sauce

Ingredients:
120g sugar
1 lemon
2 oranges
125g butter
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Preparation:
1.) Press and filter the citrus juice. Cut the butter into cubes.
2.) Sprinkle the bottom of a pan with the sugar. Grind peel of an orange. Heat gently without stirring and when the caramel begins to form, add the squeezed juice.
3.) Boil down slowly until obtaining a soft golden caramel.
4.) Add the butter and stir in the caramel.
5.) Flame with the Grand Marnier and reduce.
6.) Fold the crepes in the juice. Arrange the pancakes with the juice on a plate and repeat the process with the other pancakes. Pour all the remaining juice on top of the crepes and enjoy!

Express French Lemon tart

Here is a very easy and fast recipe for a tasty lemon pie! Made in 5 minutes, you just have to bake it during your meal, it will be perfect for dessert!

Ingredients:
1 lemon cut into 8 pieces
300 gr sugar
120 gr butter
1 little pack vanilla sugar (20g)
4 eggs
1 tart shell

Preparation:
1.) Put all ingredients (except tart shell) into a blender and whirl well until you get a smooth mix.
2.) Pour your mix into tart shell.
3.) Bake 40 minutes at 160 degrees (watch that the top does not burn).

Blueberry Pancakes

These are my son's favourite. The recipe was given to me by an Japanese-American friend in Paris. We'll be thinking of you in Istanbul. ;)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour Bio Type 65
2 Tbsp Sugar
4 tsp baking powder(1 sachet levure chimique)
1/3 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
2 cups milk
4 Tbsp cooking oil
Frozen blueberries
White chocolate chips or 1/2 a bar of Lindt white chocolate chopped up.
Pumpkin pie spice or Pain d'Epice Spice

Preparation:
1) Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add pumpkin pie spice with the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center.
2) Combine eggs, milk and oil and add this to the flour mixture at once. Stir JUST UNTIL MOISTENED. The batter should be lumpy.
3) Spread batter on lightly buttered, hot frying pan. Place blueberries and white chocolate chips on the pancake as soon as you pour the batter into the pan. Flip over when pancakes have a bubbly surface and are dry on the edges.

French Strawberry hearts

T'is the strawberry season. We have spent the last two months eating strawberries with cream and sugar. I therefore decided to come up with a new twist to our habitual pudding:

Ingredients: 
500gr Gariguette strawberries from France

Sweet dough :
220 gr flour
120 gr glazed sugar
90 g butter
1 good pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of chemical yeast
1 small egg

Cream :
50 gr butter
50 gr sugar
1 egg
50 gr ground almonds
1 tablespoon of flour
70 gr  cheese spread
1 untreated green lemon

Preparation:
1.) Make the sourdough by mixing the flour, the glazed sugar, the butter, salt and yeast until you obtain a fine sandy texture. Be careful not to overheat the butter.
2.) Add the egg
3.) Roll the dough in a ball and set aside for 1 hour minimum.
4.) Flatten the dough on a paper cooking sheet and spread it into a buttered heart shaped mold. Cut off the extra around the mold.
5.) Make it all slide on a cooking grid and precook the pie crust for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 200°C.
6.) Prepare the cream by mixing the butter and sugar.
7.) Add the egg. Mix well.
8.) Add the ground almonds and the flour
9.) Finally mix in cheese spread and the zest of grated green lemon.
10.) Pour this cream on the precooked sour dough and bake for 10 minutes at 200°C.
Let the pie cool down.
11.) Remove the strawberry stems, cut them in half and lay on the pie in heart-shaped formation.

Zesty Lemon bars

Lemon bars are fast and easy to make. A great treat for Spring days when rain alternates with sunshine and zesty takes turns with sweet.

Ingredients:
For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

1.) First, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer for the crust.
2.) Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed.
3.) Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.
4.) Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned.
5.) Let cool on a wire rack.

Leave the oven on.

6.) For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour.
7.) Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set.
8.) Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Coeur au Chocolat

For Valentine's Day I will treat you with a very special recipe from Le Cordon Bleu. The Chocolate Heart is taken from their cook book: The Chocolate Bible.

The Chocolate Bible contains 170 recipes clearly described in several sections of the book with step-by-step photos. The recipes are dedicated to chocolate desserts in all forms: cakes, tarts, creams and mousses, iced desserts and drinks, snacks and cookies, and chocolate confectionary.

But let's get down to work.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (355ºF). Butter and dust with flour a heart-shaped cake tin (or a 24 cm round cake tin).

Ingredients:
Chocolate Cake
140 g butter
225 g dark chocolate, chopped
4 egg yolks
150 g sugar
4 egg whites
50 g flour, sifted

Ganache
250 g dark chocolate
250 ml whipping cream

Decoration
Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries

Preparation:

Chocolate Cake:
1.) Melt the chocolate and the unsalted butter over a bain-marie; stir until smooth.
2.) Beat the egg yolks and 75 g of the sugar until they are pale and thick.
3. ) In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites, gradually adding the remaining sugar until they are smooth, shiny and stiff peaks form.
4.) Fold the sifted flour into the egg yolks-sugar mixture and combine with the melted chocolate-butter mixture.
5.) Whisk 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it; carefully fold in the remainder in two separate batches.
6.) Rest the batter for 5 minutes before pouring it into the prepared cake tin.
7.) Bake for 40 minutes. Cool on a rack before turning the cake out; refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Ganache:
1.) Coarsely chop the chocolate and place in a bowl.
2.) Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering and pour over the chocolate; stir until smooth.
3.) Set the ganache aside for about 10 minutes at room temperature, until it can be spread easily.
4.) When the chocolate cake is cold and fairly hard, cut a thin slice from the top to level it; use a long serrated knife and cut in a sawing motion. Spread the ganache evenly over the entire surface of the cake.
5.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm. Decorate with berries.

CHEF’S TIP:
The cake can be kept refrigerated for 2-3 days. It can also be served with crème anglaise or whipped cream.