Chocolate Bavarian Cake

Having taken a break from any cooking for the past few months, I didn't hesitate to volunteer to take over the role of making lunch on Saturday, when my mum started complaining how difficult it was to cater to our tastes everyday. With all these saved links of delicious food ideas/inspirations I'd compiled during the exam weeks, you would have thought that it'd be a breeze, right?

We ended up eating instant noodles for lunch.

And I wasn't even the one who made them!

Perhaps it's the lack of being in the kitchen or lack of exposure to delicious desserts for too long, but either the way, when the holidays begin, I spend hours on end flicking through cookbooks without the urge to rush to the kitchen and grab ingredients to make my own version. It's kinda sad....but don't worry, in a couple of week's time, it'll be impossible to get me out of the kitchen!

This chocolate bavarian cake, made a week after exams, was, I guess, a product of my lack of inspiration. It all started with a chocolate bavarian dessert I'd been serving at my restaurant, of which I was having a hard time describing to customers as I hadn't a clue what it was. So what better way to find out than to make it myself? 

After hours of recipe searching, and still no inspiration, the bavarian tart turned into a cake, which took me through literally every cookbook on my shelf to find the perfect chocolate cake recipe. With the cake and bavarian recipe done, the search continued through every cake flyer I'd ever collected for inspiration on a way to decorate the cake. 

And this was the result. 

Perhaps a bit dull for the effort put into it, but it tasted pretty good :)

Chocolate Bavarian Cake Recipe

Note: I halved the following recipes to make a 15cm cake.

Chocolate Cake

Recipe From BHG New Cookbook

3 eggs
2/3 cup butter
1.5 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
110g dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 buttermilk

1. Separate eggs. Allow egg yolks, egg whites and butter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan combine chocolate and 1/3 cup water. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Cool.
3.  In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, beating until well combined. Scrape sides of the bowl and continue beating for 2 minutes (until light and fluffy). Beat in egg yolks one at a time, lightly until just incorporated, followed by the cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla. 
4. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, beat on low speed after each addition until just incorporated.
5. Thoroughly wash beaters In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into the batter. Spread the batter into two 22cm pans.
6. Bake in a 180degC preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted near the centre comes out clean. Cool cake layers on wire rays for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans; cool thoroughly on racks

Bavarian Cream

Recipe from Perfect Recipe

200g dark chocolate, chopped
375ml milk
4 egg yolks
90g sugar
1 tbsp unflavored gelatin
315ml whipping or heavy cream

1. Heat the milk with the chocolate, stir until the chocolate has melted. Do not boil. Leave to cool a little then remove the pod.
2. Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the milk mixture into the egg and whisk to combine. Pour back into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon over low heat until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Do not boil. Set aside
3. Dissolve gelatin in 2 tbsp of hot water and stir in the chocolate mixture. Refrigerate until cold, stir occasionally.
4. Whip the cream until it stands in soft peaks and. When the mixture is cold, fold the cream into the chocolate mixture.Use immediately to cover cake.

Assembly

1. Place a cake layer on a cake plate. Spread with some of the bavarian cream.
2. Top with the remaining cake layer. Cover the tops and sides with the remainder of the bavarian cream.
3. [optional] Cover the cake with a chocolate lattice.