Sunday 21 April 2013

Chocolate rum and raisin cake....and a prize giveaway


 


When the nice people at Mustard, the incredibly funky online homewares store, asked me if I’d like to select something from their site to review on my blog – and be given a second one to giveaway as a competition prize – I felt that Christmas had come early!  But what to pick?  I wanted everything on the site!




I eventually chose the choc-a-bloc cake mould.  It had stiff competition from the house brick cake mould (which must've sold out now, as it's not on the site anymore) but I felt there were more occasions perhaps where one could bake a bar of chocolate cake, than a house brick.  It sells for £8 and details of how you can win one are at the end of this post.




Much as I like to be contrary, for the first use of this mould it had to be a chocolate cake.  The CCD (Caked Crusader’s Da) has always had a soft spot for rum and raisin.  As luck would have it my copy of Eric Lanlard’s latest book had just arrived and I noticed a very nice chocolate rum and raisin loaf cake.  I’ve tweaked the recipe (i.e. put the rum and raisins in the cake, rather than the ganache) and played around with the quantities to suit this mould.  The raisins pop in your mouth with a hint of rum, which adds pleasing depth to the chocolate cake. 




Please note my comments in the recipe on the ganache – I found its looks a little disappointing but it tasted lovely (beyond chocolate - so intense).  It set firm, quickly – look!  I hardly had time to spread it:




So, how can you win a fantastic choc-a-bloc cake mould?  Simply leave a comment to this post telling me about your favourite chocolate bar – it could be something that isn’t made anymore, it could be something that’s in every supermarket across the country, it might not even exist but in your dreams!  But it has to be your favourite!  For me, nothing can ever beat a four finger kitkat – particularly if you get one of the ‘faulty’ ones where one stick is solid chocolate.



The prize is open to any readers in the UK, sorry to everyone else.  Competition closes 7pm Friday 26th April and the winner (chosen by lucky dip!  I know rafflecopter etc is all the rage these days but – for a blogger – I am actually rather old school!) will be announced on the blog shortly after.  Good luck!







Ingredients

For the cake:
100g raisins
4 tablespoons rum – I used spiced rum
100g unsalted butter
150g dark chocolate, broken into squares
4 eggs – separated
200g golden caster sugar
50g ground almonds
100g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

For the ganache: (NB.  I found this far too much and recommend you halve it.  I also was concerned that it was too thick – there’s soooo much chocolate in it - so I thinned it with more cream.  If you have a reliable ganache recipe maybe use it instead of this one)
175m single cream, plus extra if needed (about 2 tablespoons)
25g golden caster sugar
350g dark chocolate – broken into squares
25g unsalted butter, at room temperature


Method

A day in advance of making the cake soak the raisins and rum and leave in a covered bowl.  Stir occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper.  If using a silicone mould (as I did) use cake release spray.  As my mould was smaller, I used a 450g loaf tin to bake the leftover batter i.e. I got 2 cakes out of it!

Start by making the cake: melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water – taking care that the bowl does not touch the water.

Leave to cool.

Beat together the egg yolks and sugar until they are pale and creamy.

Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture and the ground almonds.

Beat in the flour and baking powder.

Stir in the rum and raisins, making sure you don’t leave any rum in the bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

Take a spoonful of egg white and stir it into the chocolate mix to slacken it.

Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Spoon into the prepared tin(s) and level the surface.

If using the 900g tin, bake for approximately 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.  If using two 450g moulds, bake for about 30 minutes before checking.

Leave to cool in the tin(s) for about 10 minutes before turning out and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.

Now make the ganache: heat the cream and sugar in a saucepan until very hot but not boiling (i.e. what used to be called scalding point).

Remove from the heat and add the chocolate.

Stir until thick and glossy.

Stir in the butter.  Now I might be getting old and puny but I couldn’t do this by hand so used my kitchenaid.  The mix was very thick so I added some extra cream.

Let the ganache cool –but not set - before finishing the cake.

Place the cake on the serving plate and carefully spread the ganache over it.  Let it run down the sides a little.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.

36 comments:

Clare Neilson said...

My favourite chocolate bar of all time was the Peanut butter Lion Bar. Smooth peanut butter with crisp pieces in the chocolate and wafer and...too many nice things in there to list!

Unknown said...

I spend all of Sunday waiting for your blog - sad I know! But I love it and this week a competition too, you are spoiling us!

My fave chocolate bar was a bar called a secret. They were a marshmallow wrapped it spun chocolate. They came in a pack of 3 and my mum, sister and I would have one each with a hot chocolate on a Saturday. I wish they still made them but would never live up to my memory of them!

Love Claire x

Gloria Baker said...

I think this is heavenly, look amazing!! delicious! xo

Cakeyboi said...

You still can't beat a Wispa - I was so excited when they brought them back! My fave by far :)

xxsarahxx said...

I absolutely love a good old topic....although i'm sure they have reduced dramatically in size, i still get satisfaction from the lovely nougat, nut and chocolate combination x

morri said...

I'm not eligible for the contest, but I'd like to chip in just for the fun of it: Ritter Sport. I especially like Nougat from the regular ones and Pear and Brandy from the specials.

Unknown said...

My favorite chocolate bar is a Star Bar, peanutty, chocolatey, caramel-y goodness! Yum!

Lovely recipe btw!

Leah x

Vix Johnston said...

Thank Crunchie it's Fri... well, Sunday... I still love one smashed with a soup can and scattered over ice cream.

Victory Rolls & Mixing Bowls said...

This mould is a very cute idea and you know I love moulds lol. Love the idea of the raisins full of rum popping. I would have to say that my favourite chocolate bar is from Norway 'Smash', no potato here though! It's chocolate with a baked potato snack inside, like Bugles? Hard to explain but salty and sweet, lovely :)

Unknown said...

My favorite chocolate bar is the one and only cadburys dairy milk :)

Susie @ Fold in the Flour said...

This looks gorgeous - I love the sound of that ganache!

My favourite chocolate bar is the original Fry's Chocolate Cream (no fancy schmancy orange or mint for me). It's something Mike buys me as a treat every now and then. :)

katie skeoch said...

Got to be a Golden Cup - gone but not forgotten! Cadbury's Caramel just doesn't live up to it

Janine said...

I love the idea of a rum and raisin chocolate cake! Might have to give this a go.

Caroline Cowe said...

My favourite chocolate bar is probably Cadbury's Caramel - I've loved it ever since the TV ads with the bunny, which is a long time ago!

Sherrie said...

Fab cake, my fav choc has to be raspberry ruffle, what girl can resist the bright pink sweet centre, balanced out by the gorgeous dark choc on the outside. Not enough people eat this choc, you don't know what you're all missing! X

Fiona said...

Love the cake. My favourite chocolate bar has to Topic. Something about that combination of chocolate, nougat and hazelnuts.

Cakelaw said...

Yum! I would so love to try this scrumptious choccy treat.

Katie said...

Wow looks wonderfully gooey and fudgy. Love the rum and raisin addition.
My ideal choc bar woudl be really dark bitter chocolate shell with a sour cherry filling, with a peanut butter layer and a dark chocolate ganache layer - mmm sounds like heaven

Gemma samanta said...

My favourite chocolate is a double decker- soft chewy nougat and a crunchy base with cadburys chocolate. Heaven! X

Admin said...

Wow that is my favorite one,Mostly i preferred such chocolates instead letting other to choose for me.

Homeware store

Lisa said...

Mouth is watering looking at that cake! My fav bar is Toblerone, milk chocolate. Love the nougat, can taste the honey and the chocolate is smooth and creamy. Mmm.

Jules said...

My all time fav is a Caramac. Was addicted for a while. Lovely recipe.

Lucy said...

That's such a cute mould! The cake looks delicious - I love the sound of the intense ganache.

Lauren Roffey said...

Love the look of this cake. All time fave chocolate bar? Got be a Double Decker.

Maggie said...

I've always loved chocolate, rum and raisin bars and in a cake - perfect.

Samantha said...

The cake looks amazing! Yum. As for my favourite chocolate bar - some things still are just for Christmas and white Toblerone is one of them. Delicious, creamy and gone in 60 seconds.

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Unknown said...

Wispas are definitely my chocolate of choice- delish! Though the Oreo Dairy milk bars are providing pretty stiff competition- if only they did them in single serving size!

trash said...

Oh it always has to be Lindt Milk Chocolate. Or Divine Milk chocolate. But not Belgian, never Belgian.

Jean said...

Gosh, that cake looks wonderful !!
I have been hanging my nose over Eric Lanalard's new book and had convinced myself there was NO WAY I needed yet another cookbook, but now I'm not so sure !!

The bar of chocolate mould is brilliant.....my favourite chocolate bar is, without a doubt, the Bounty. Either milk or plain, the combination of chocolate and coconut is just heavenly....not to mention incredibly sweet !!

My hat's in the ring to win the mould - keeping my fingers crossed.

Hello said...

I really like how your chocolate rum and raisin cake turned out. it's really unique and for £8 for the mould, it certainly is a bargain.

Anonymous said...

mmm...now you have me wanting chocolate.

That looks totally delicious!

I think I might have to reach into my cabinet to get my favorite Ghirardelli chocolate bar.

By the way, in case you can't tell is my favorite chocolate bar in the world!

I really like the intense dark caramel ones.

Kelly
http://missionrecipe.blogspot.com/

Linds said...

That cake pan looks great and the recipe sounds delicious!

My favourite chocolate bar is the "Gnorfolk Lavender" bar from Gnaw. Their chocolate is delicious!

Kezia said...

My favorite is dairy milk - a bit boring I know, but it always tastes the best!

xxsarahxx said...

Well....what can i say....."I'M A WINNER" lol. Thank you so much. I've never won anything in my life. I've had to post on here as i can't seem to connect to your email for some reason. My email is sarahcoley@blueyonder.co.uk
Maybe if u email me i can send my details that way...Thanks again.xx

Laura Loves Cakes said...

Oooo this cake mould looks fab! I love the flavour of your cake too. Re the ganache this would look great with runny ganache poured over it a la sacher torte. A great bake :-)