This cake will win the heart of any little princess! Chocolate cake with shortbread lollipops and fresh strawberries is the perfect dessert for the colour-loving chocoholic in your life.
Chocolate cake with shortbread lollipops and fresh strawberries
Ingredients
- CAKE
- 125g unsalted butter
- 115g castor sugar
- 90ml icing sugar, sifted
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 5ml vanilla extract
- 80g strawberry jam
- 160g self-raising flour
- 60g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5ml bicarbonate of soda
- 250ml milk
- CHOCOLATE TOPPING
- 50g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 25ml unsalted butter
- 15ml fresh cream
- 60ml icing sugar, sifted
- CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
- 12 eggs, separated
- 200g castor sugar
- 600g dark chocolate, melted
- 600ml fresh cream,
- whipped until stiff
- 250g unsalted butter
- 240g cake flour
- 100g almonds, finely ground
- 480g icing sugar
- pink food colouring
- white chocolate scrolls, to garnish
- strawberries, to garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
For the cake, cream the butter and sugars with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Add the eggs gradually, beating thoroughly after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and jam.
Transfer to a large bowl. Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the combined sifted flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda, alternating with the milk. Stir until the mixture is just combined and almost smooth.
Pour the mixture into a 23cm baking tin and smooth the surface. Bake until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Leave in the cake tin for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the chocolate topping, stir all the ingredients together in a small pot over low heat until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool.
To make the mousse, whisk the egg whites until stiff and set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar over a double boiler until thick and smooth. Add the chocolate to the egg mixture and work quickly as it sets fast. Quickly fold in the fresh cream, then the prepared egg whites. Place in the fridge to set.
For the lollipops, mix the butter, flour, almonds and 380g icing sugar in a mixer until it forms into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest for 1 hour in the fridge.
Roll out the lollipop batter very thinly and cut out heart shapes with a cookie cutter. Stick the tip (about 1cm) of a bamboo skewer into the biscuit and place on a baking tray. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool.10 Combine the remaining icing sugar with a drop of pink food colouring and just enough water to create a thick paste. Remove the cookies and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Coat with the pink icing and leave to set.
Slice the cake into three layers and thickly spread each layer with the chocolate mousse. Assemble the cake and place it back into the fridge to set.
Once set, remove and cover the cake with the chocolate topping. Place the white chocolate scrolls around the cake and top with strawberries. Stick the lollipops into the cake and serve.
Notes
White chocolate scrolls are available from a confectioner.
