Self-taught baker and all-round tastemaker Silvia Colloca serves up the good stuff in Love, Laugh, Bake! (published by Plum). Our hands-down fave? This Vienna-style chocolate cake with oozy chocolate glaze – guaranteed to please all chocoholics (and swiftly convert anyone who isn’t).
Vienna-style chocolate cake with chocolate glaze
1. Preheat your oven to 160°C and grease and line a 22 cm round cake tin.
2. Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip until tripled in volume. This can take up to 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place the cream and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over low heat. Remove from the heat, then add the chocolate chips and leave them to melt into the warm cream. Mix until smooth and combined, then stir in the cocoa powder and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Very gently fold the cooled cream mixture into the whipped eggs. Add the flour and carefully mix it through. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. The cake will shrink slightly from the side when cooked, but the top will stay soft and slightly wobbly. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make the chocolate glaze, place the butter, chocolate chips, glucose syrup, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until the butter and chocolate have almost melted. Add the cream and sugar and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 3–4 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
5. Cut the cake in half horizontally, using a serrated knife. Put the apricot jam in a saucepan and warm gently until it becomes liquid. Set aside.
6. Brush the cut sides of the cake with the Galliano. Spread the apricot jam over the bottom half, then top with the other half. Place the assembled cake on a wire rack and line the bench underneath with foil to catch any drips. Give the glaze a quick stir (it will have thickened slightly), then pour it all over the cake and, using a spatula, cover the side too.
7. Allow to cool and set, then transfer to a platter and enjoy.
Recipe and image from Love, Laugh, Bake by Silvia Colloca, published by Plum. Available now. Photographed by Rob Palmer.
Find more dessert recipes from Love, Laugh, Bake in the November issue of marie claire, on sale now.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
