Gentlemen´s Cake (Herrentorte)
This is the traditional birthday cake for my dad. It´s called gentlemen´s cake because it is covered in dark ganache. In Germany, we used to call dark chocolate 'gentlemen´s chocolate' (Herrenschokolade) because it is quite clear that the dark chocolate is bitter and thus the ladies don´t like it much, while men don´t like sweet things... Right. Anyhow, this cake is so sweet and sinful that nobody wants to admit that they like it but I never take any leftover home :)
I know I have a picture of the individual layers but suddenly can´t find it anymore. I will edit the post once I´ve found it.
Cake base (same as for Blackforest Cake):
140 g dark baking chocolate
75 g butter
6 eggs (seperated)
180 g sugar
100 g flour
50 g starch (corn, potato, any, really)
2 tsp. baking powder
Fillings:
200 g marzipan
100 ml cream
a few drops of almond extract
a dash of ground nutmeg
200 g baking nougat/praline (the hazelnutty stuff you´d use to fill homemade chocolates)
100 ml cream
100 g hazelnut brittle (optional)
a dash of ground cinnamon (optional)
Ganache:
200 g dark/bitter chocolate (the darker the better)
200 ml cream
Decoration:
flaked almonds
Day 1:
Melt baking chocolate over warm water. Beat egg whites to form stiff peaks. Beat egg yolks with sugar until creamy. Mix baking chocolate into the yolk mixture. Combine flour and starch and sift onto egg whites. Lightly fold egg whites/flour into the yolk/chocolate mix. Bake cake base in a baking paper-lined springform.
Pre-heated oven 175°C 40-45 min.
Let cool completely.
In a saucepan, combine cream and nougat, cut into small pieces. Gently warm while stirring, then bring to a boil.
Let cool down and refridgerate over night.
Day 2:
Cut cake base into three layers. (Cut shallowly around cake, then use a thin wire or strong length of yarn to cut evenly or use one of those slitted cake rings.)
Marzipan filling:
Soften marzipan in microwave, add cream (whip cream if you´d like a fluffier filling) nutmeg and almond extract, mix well, spread onto first layer, top with next layer of chocolate cake.
Nougat filling:
Whip the refridgerated nougat mix and add the cinnamon and hazelnut brittle if so desired. Spread onto second cake layer. Top with third.
Ganache:
In a saucepan, combine cream with dark chocolate (in small pieces), gently warm and then bring to a boil while stirring. Coat the entire cake quickly in ganache, decorate with flaked almonds. The ganache will stay nice and soft while keeping a glossy finish.
Let cool and serve :)