Recipes
Combine the eggs, light brown sugar and inverted sugar to a smooth mixture. Combine the flour with the cocoa powder and baking powder. Sieve together and add to the first mixture. Combine to form a smooth batter. Add the lukewarm milk and cream. Combine and add the melted butter last. Make a smooth batter and set aside.
Combine the milk with 100 g of sugar and bring to the boil. Mix the rest of the sugar with the egg yolks to form a light mixture. Pour the mixture into the boiling milk and combine. Heat over a low heat to 83 °C, stirring the mixture constantly. Remove the cream from the pan by pouring it through a sieve in a cold container. Cover and let it cool down to 28 °C. Gradually add the cream to the softened butter. Allow the butter time to incorporate the liquid. Melt the dark chocolate at 32 °C and add it to the butter cream. Whip into a light butter cream.
Heat the cream and the inverted sugar to 80 °C. Melt half of the dark chocolate. Pour the warm cream on the chocolate, half at a time, and make a shiny emulsion. Cool down the ganache to 35 °C. Add the soft butter to the ganache, combine, and whip to a light butter cream.
Whip the egg whites at room temperature to a fluffy state. Add the sugar, one-third at a time, and whip at a slow speed until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the sieved cocoa powder and combine. Using a piping bag and a 7 mm nozzle, pipe lengths onto a sheet of baking paper, placed on a baking tray. Dry for 120 minutes at 90 °C. Cool and store in a dry, dark place until needed.
It is ok if the meringues get soft after a while. They get a bit chewy, like a marshmallow, but they hold their shape. If you keep the cakes longer in the refrigerator, decorate them with the meringues at the very last moment.
Prepare 4 metal rings, 5 cm high and 18 cm in diameter. Grease the inside and place on a baking tray with a silicone sheet. Divide the batter in the 4 rings.Bake in a ventilated oven at 175 °C for about 25 to 30 minutes. Test the cakes with a needle to make sure the inside is fully baked. Remove from the oven and turn the cakes over. This way the cakes will flatten on top. Leave to cool completely before continuing. Cut the cakes into 8 discs, 1 cm thick. Start with a chocolate disc and add 150 g of the chocolate butter cream. Place another disc of chocolate cake and add a layer of 200 g of the dark
chocolate truffle cream. Place a 3rd disc of chocolate cake and add another layer of the chocolate butter cream. Top with a disc of chocolate cake. In total, there are 7 layers: 4 layers of cake and 3 layers of butter cream. Be sure to stack the cake layers nice and straight, as it makes it easier to decorate the sides. Cool for 30 minutes in the refrigerator before proceeding.
Decorate the sides and the top of the cakes with a thin layer of butter cream. Use the leftover butter cream to decorate the top of the cakes. Alternate to get a bi-coloured finish. Cut pieces of chocolate meringue of unequal sizes and decorate the cakes all around.
