Chocolate Espresso Cake with Caffe Latte Cream

 

Now this is what I call coffee and cake.

Chocolate Espresso Cake with Caffe Latte Cream

slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson's Feast

For the Cake:

150g dark chocolate chips

150g unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped

6 eggs, room temperature

250g golden caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

75g cake flour

5 teaspoons instant espresso powder

1/4 cup Tia Maria

For the Caffe Latte Cream:

75g white chocolate, chopped

375ml thickened cream

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Spray a 23cm round springform cake pan with cooking oil spray and line the base and sides with baking paper.

Put the dark chocolate chips and butter into a heat-proof bowl and melt it over a pan of simmering water. Don't let the pan touch the water. Cool slightly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Gently fold in the flour and espresso powder. Add the melted chocolate and butter and very gently fold that in too, keeping as much air in the batter as possible. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35 - 40 minutes. This is a moist, moussy cake so it will leave moist crumbs clinging to a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake when tested for done-ness. Immediately pour the Tia Maria over the hot cake and set aside to cool completely on a wire rack before releasing it from the pan.

Make the Caffe Latte Cream:

Put the white chocolate into a heat-proof bowl and melt it over a pan of simmering water. Don't let the pan touch the water. Let it cool, then add the cream and espresso powder. Gently beat the chocolate and cream together until softly whipped to "floppy"stage. The chocolate will automatically thicken the cream, so go easy on the whipping (said the nun to the vicar.)