Suisse Chocolate Memories

Passport & Plate - Dark Chocolate truffle cake

Switzerland | Tuesday, March 3, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
10 1/2 ounces Butter
9 ounces Felchlin Maracaibo 65%
dark chocolate (or any other premium dark chocolate)
2 1/2 ounces CocoaPowder
5 each Eggs
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
4 1/2
ounces Marscapone cheese
3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt

Chocolate Ganache Glaze
8 ounces. 65% dark chocolate
3/4 cup. Heavy
cream
2tbsp. Butter

 

How to prepare this recipe
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 9
inch round cake pan by coating it with a nonstick bakers spray, such as, PAM.
Prepare a double boiler by filling up a one quart pot halfway with water. Place
on a medium flame and bring to a boil. In a heat resistant bowl place the butter
and the Maracaibo. Put the bowl on top of the simmering water. Stir frequently
until the bitter and chocolate is completely melted.
Put the chocolate/butter mixture into an electric mixer and incorporate the cocoa powder using the paddle
attachment. Next add the sugar, then the eggs one at a time, at a medium speed.
Add the vanilla extract and the marscopone, mix until smooth. Lastly, add the
A/P Flour and salt. Pour the chocolate truffle batter into the prepared 9 inch
round cake pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-35 minutes until the cake is set but
still fudgy, so try your best to not over bake the cake. Once it is done. Allow
to cool for about 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a platter. Allow to cool
completely. Once it's cooled spread on the chocolate ganache evenly, about 1/4
inch thick, on top of the cake. Once it's set serve by slicing the cake or make
individual mini cakes using a 3 inch round cookie cutter (as pictured
above).

The glaze:
Melt the butter and the heavy cream in a 1quart pot and
bring to a simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Allow to sit for once
minute. Then whisk together until all the ingredients are incorporated. It
should have a smooth and glossy finish.

 

The story behind this recipe
I was a senior in college when I was picked to embark on my first ever international adventure. There was a program offered at my school, in which a select few were picked for a summer culinary training and tours taking place in and around Vitznau, Switzerland! I was such a New Yorker and so in love with my city that I hadn’t even fathomed going aboard until I came across this opportunity. Once I arrived in Vitznau, it consisted of a landscape like nothing I had ever witnessed. Outside my window were mountains, lakes, and more cows and horses then people. It was there that I had realized that I could make anywhere on this vast earth home. It was such a big contrast from the big city but I had fallen in love with the beautiful and stillness. It was just a different way of life overall. My favorite part was having so much great food and ingredients available at your fingertips literally, as we collected herbs for our dishes on the school’s rooftop garden. It was during my time in Switzerland that I came to appreciate real Swiss chocolate. It was on that trip that I came to learn about the process of chocolate making from start to finish, during a tour of the Felchlin chocolate factory. After the tour we were given parting gifts, their newest product, Maracaibo 65% chocolate bar. I couldn’t wait to bring it back to the states and whip up a dessert with it. Unfortunately my Maracaibo never made it home, as I had shipped it home to ensure delivery but it never made it past customs. I never forgot about it, searched a few specialty stores in New York. I had eventually found it in the states and came up with this decadent chocolate truffle cake. I wanted the richness, and layers of flavor of the Maracaibo to take center stage. Every time I made this cake, I think of Suisse, my temporary home. I felt like a world citizen for the first time ever. It changed my life.