I took this cake with me to work last Friday, as I was going on vacation. I thought for a long time about what I wanted to experiment with, until I saw Ditte Julie Jensen’s version of a biscuit cake (chocolate refrigerator cake) and felt instantly inspired. Especially since I already had the beautiful spiral molds in my ever-growing collection of silicone molds and baking equipment.
I have played a bit with the flavours, adding almonds and praline instead of just having dark chocolate and butter biscuits. All in all, a delicious and crisp dessert cake that plays with the traditional danish biscuit cake.
CHOCOLATE BISCUIT CAKE WITH PRALINE
6-8 SERVINGS.
BISCUIT BASE:
SEEDS OF 1 VANILLA POD
60 G ICING SUGAR
125 G FLOUR
25 G WHOLE ALMONDS
80 G COLD BUTTER
1/2 EGG
Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds, then mix them together with a bit of icing sugar, to separate the seeds.
Blend the whole almonds into a fine meal.
Add the vanilla sugar, icing sugar, flour and cold butter cut into squares to the blender and blitz the whole thing in short burts until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Quickly add the egg yolk og blend again until the dough just comes together.
Wrap the dough in a piece of cling film, press it flat and place it on the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Roll out the dough between two pieces of film or baking paper to a couple of millimeters thickness and cut out two round biscuits of 14 cm in diameter.
Bake them for about 10 min. until the biscuit is nice golden brown.
Allow them to cool completely.
CHOCOLATE CREAM:
30G BUTTER
70 G DARK CHOKOLATE, 70 %
1 TBSP. ICING SUGAR
20 G PASTEURISED EGG YOLK
1/4 TSP. VANILLA POWDER
Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl and mix them together.
Mix flour, vanilla and egg yolk together and fold it into the chocolate.
Fill the chocolate mixture into a spiral shape, also called a tourbillon (14 cm in diameter). Tap the mold against the table to remove as many air bubbles as possible and evenly spread the chocolate.
Put one biscuit base on top and press down lightly so that the chocolate cream and the disc stick together.
Place the mold of the fridge, while you make the praline.
PRALINÉ:
50 G SUGAR
50 G HAZELNUTS
50 G MILK CHOCOLATE (JIVARA 40% VALRHONA)
1 PINCH OF SALT
Roast the nuts in a 200 degree hot oven for 5-10 minutes until they begin give off a delicious toasted scent.
Pour them out onto a clean kitchen cloth and rub the skin off. (Save a few nut for the decoration)
Melt the sugar in a small saucepan until it caramelises and become a golden amber colour.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the hazelnuts in.
Pour the caramelized nuts onto a piece of baking paper and let them cool, sprinkle with salt.
Blend the nuts into a creamy mixture.
Melt the chocolate and add it to the nuts.
Pour the praline into the other tourbillon spiral, put the last biscuit base on top and press it lightly so that the praline adheres to the disc. Place the mold of the refrigerator for a couple of hours, preferably over night.
DECORATION:
40G SALTED CARAMEL
OPALYS CRUNCHY PEARLS
DULCEY CRUNCHY PEARLS
HALVED ROASTED HAZELNUTS
MINT LEAVES
SPRINKLES
Turn the mold upside down and gently push the two spirals out, starting from the edge and moving inwards.
Place the biscuit base with praline on the serving dish.
Pipe a layer of salted caramel into the spiral.
Put the other base on top.
Decorate with hazelnuts, crunchy pearls, cream, caramel and mint leaves
