Mini Chocolate Gateau

Today is another holiday for me, and for many others too...

tomorrow will be back to normal again..

time flies and 3/4 of the day is gone~

Supposed to go to my in law's house but in the end it was canceled..

so I spent my day cooking and baking plus sitting in front of my lappie, chatting and surfing.

that's my usual routine =)

How did you spend your holiday?

The other day, I specially bought some 72% cacao dark chocolate to bake some chocolaty stuffs!

I wanna submit my chocolaty bake to DG from Tested & Tasted

for May 2011's Aspiring Bakers #7 - Chocolate Delight again...

This is a permanent resident in my home =)

Piglet with a "sorry" look...

it was a little gift from my man a couple of years ago.

Today, I wore a scarf for Piglet...

She's always sitting on my oven's handle...

and whenever my niece is here, she will play with Piglet...

but not for long! HAHA!

Enough said....
here comes the chocolate gateau...

I halved the recipe and made into muffin sized cakes.

This will half the calories too! 

I'm bad at making it look pretty...

but the appearance of the chocolate gateau did not affect the taste!

I felt absolutely satisfied after eating one chilled gateau...

so generously covered with ganache..

It's so rich and the sweetness is just right!

What more can I ask for on such a relaxing afternoon? Hehe..

Quick! Buy some chocolates today! =)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Chocolate Gateau

150g Dark Chocolate, broken up
75g Golden Caster Sugar (I used white sugar)
150g Unsalted Butter, diced
1 Tbsp Honey
4 Large Eggs, Separated
200g Grounded Almonds
75ml Milk (I used low fat fresh milk)

Chocolate Ganache:
100g Dark Chocolate, chopped
120g Heavy Cream (I used canned Nestle brand)
1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (Own addition)
1 1/2 Tbsp Brandy (Own addition)

1. Line the base of a 20cm cake pan (with removable base) with parchment paper, grease the sides with butter and set aside.

2. Separate egg yolks from whites when the eggs are still cold. Set aside to bring to room temperature.

3. Place chocolate, sugar, butter, honey in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir frequently till the ingredients melted. Let cool.

4. Transfer to a large bowl. With a manual whisk beat in egg yolks and ground almonds, then stir in the milk. (Just a few stir should get everything incorporated. The mixture will be rather thick at this stage.)

5. In a clean, dry, grease free mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until stiff. With a spatula, Fold In the beaten egg whites in 3 separate additions, into the cake mixture. (Ensure all the whites are fully incorporate into the cake mixture after every addition.)

6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan (the final batter will be less thick). Give the pan several sharp taps on a work top to bring up any air bubbles that may be trapped in the batter.

7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 35-40mins, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

8. Remove from oven, let cool in the pan for about 1omins. Run a thin-bladed knife along the sides of the pan, unmold and cool right-side up.

9. To make chocolate ganache: bring the heavy cream to a boil, remove from heat and add in chopped chocolate and butter. Stir till chocolate is melted and mix brandy in. Let cool for a few mins and spread over the cake. (You can add some milk if the ganache is too thick.)

 ----------------------------------------------------------

Recipe Source from : Happy Home Baking