It was Mr Man’s birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I set out to make him a birthday cake.
I know he loves all things chocolate and caramel, so I spent days dreaming up different ways to combine them into a gateau.
And before I knew it, the idea of this cake was born. And it had eight layers!
The components of this cake, from the bottom up, are:
Brownie base
Praline crunch
Caramel mousse
Hazelnut crunch
Caramel creme brûlée
Praline chocolate mousse
Chocolate glaze
Yes, there are lots of layers, and yes the recipe is super long, but don’t let that overwhelm you. As long as you are comfortable with making caramel, none of these components are particularly difficult – the cake is just time consuming to make.
I took my time, and as the layers need to be frozen before the next component can be added, I made this over a few days. And then, because I didn’t have time to make a trial beforehand, I crossed my fingers and hoped that all the layers would be balanced and work well together!
The result was delicious. I made two gateaux (one for the birthday boy and one for photos) and I could barely steal a slice of the second cake away from my family to save for photos.
The gateau has crunch from the base and the nutty centre layer, the mousses were creamy, the creme brûlée is smooth and the hazelnut worked beautifully with the caramel and chocolate.
However, if I were to make it again, I would double the size of the caramel creme brûlée layer (because it’s so yum!), and reduce the amount of praline chocolate mousse (it was a little rich).
Happy birthday Mr Man! Hope you loved the cake. X
- PRALINE PASTE:
- ¾ cup caster (superfine) sugar
- ¾ cup hazelnuts, blanched and toasted
- ½ tsp veg oil
- BROWNIE BASE:
- 45g unsalted butter
- 70g dark chocolate
- 75g caster (superfine) sugar
- 55g egg (approx. 1)
- 2g vanilla
- 45g plain flour
- pinch salt
- PRALINE CRUNCH:
- 60g milk chocolate
- 60g dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp praline paste
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup feuilletine
- CARAMEL MOUSSE:
- 75g caster (superfine) sugar
- 36g cream
- 6g glucose
- 4g honey
- drop vanilla
- 45g egg yolk
- 5g gelatin sheet (2.5 sheets gold strength)
- 225g semi whipped cream
- CARAMEL CREME BRULEE:
- 125g cream
- ½ vanilla bean
- 22g caster sugar
- 30g egg yolk
- 1.5g gelatin sheet (3/4 of one gold strength sheet)
- HAZELNUT CRUNCH:
- 50g milk chocolate
- 50g dark chocolate
- ½ cup blanched and roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
- PRALINE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE:
- 100g milk chocolate
- 150 praline paste from earlier
- 3.5g gelatine sheet (1¾ gold strength leaves)
- 75g milk
- 335g semi whipped cream
- CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
- 125g cream
- 2 tbsp liquide glucose/corn syrup
- 100g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- PRALINE PASTE:
- Line a tray with baking paper.
- Put the sugar in a medium saucepan and add 1½ tbsp water. Stir to combine.
- Place on the heat and brush down the sides of the pot with a wet pastry brush.
- Cook until a deep amber colour. Do not stir.
- Turn off the heat and add the hazelnuts. Swirl the pan to coat them in caramel and pour onto the prepared tray.
- Spread into an even layer and allow to cool and harden.
- Chop the praline into small chunks and blend with the oil in a food processor to make a smooth paste.
- BROWNIE BASE:
- Preheat the oven to 160 C (325 F) and line the base and sides of a 9 inch round springform tin with baking paper.
- Melt butter and chocolate together until smooth and combined.
- Lightly whisk sugar, eggs and vanilla and stir into the chocolate mixture.
- Fold in the flour and salt.
- Pour into the prepared pan and spread out into an even layer.
- Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, until the top is set.
- Allow the brownie to cool completely.
- Once it is cool, remove the brownie base from the tin.
- Place the same springform tin (without it's base) on a flat tray lined with baking paper. Line the sides of the tin with acetate.
- Fit the brownie back into the tin and freeze.
- PRALINE CRUNCH:
- Melt both chocolates and praline together over a bain marie until smooth.
- Stir in salt and feuilletine.
- Spread in a thin layer over the brownie base and freeze until set.
- CARAMEL MOUSSE:
- Heat the cream, glucose, honey and vanilla in a small pot until melted and combined. Set aside but keep warm.
- Make a dry caramel by putting the sugar in a medium pot and heating until it melts. Cook until it is a dark amber colour.
- Turn off the heat and pour the warm cream mixture into the caramel, stirring constantly until smooth.
- Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a stand mixer until they are thick and pale.
- Pour in caramel slowly, while constantly whipping on a high speed.
- Soak gelatin in cold water to soften. Squeeze out the excess water and put it in a small metal bowl. Place the small bowl over a larger bowl of hot water, stirring the gelatine until it dissolves into a liquid.
- Add it to the caramel mix and stir to combine.
- Cool to room temperature.
- Fold through the semi whipped cream.
- Pour over set praline crunch layer, level smooth and freeze until set.
- CARAMEL CREME BRULEE:
- Line the base of a 7 or 8 inch round springform tin with baking paper and the sides with acetate.
- Heat the cream and seeds from the vanilla pod in a small pot until just under the boil. Set aside but keep warm.
- Make a dry caramel by putting the sugar in a medium pot and heating until it melts. Cook until it is a dark amber colour.
- Turn off the heat and pour the warm cream mixture into the caramel, stirring constantly until smooth.
- Whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl. Still whisking, slowly pour in the caramel cream until completely incorporated.
- Soften the gelatin in cold water, squeeze out the excess and stir through the brûlée mixture.
- Pour into the prepared pan and freeze until set.
- HAZELNUT CRUNCH:
- Melt both chocolates together over a bain marie until smooth.
- Stir in chopped hazelnuts.
- Spread in thin layer over the creme brûlée and freeze.
- Once set, remove the creme brûlée/hazelnut crunch layers from their tin and place on top of the set caramel mousse, hazelnut crunch down. Freeze.
- PRALINE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE:
- Melt the milk chocolate with the praline over a bain marie until smooth and combined.
- Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft.
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan until just under the boil. Remove from the heat.
- Squeeze the excess water from the gelatin sheet and stir into the milk until dissolved.
- Mix the milk into the chocolate praline mixture. Cool to room temperature.
- Fold in the semi whipped cream.
- Pour over the caramel creme brûlée layer and level flat.
- Freeze until set.
- CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
- Remove the cake from the baking tray (but leave it in the springform ring) and place on your serving plate.
- Bring the cream and glucose to the boil in a small saucepan.
- Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Allow to stand for 2 - 3 minutes.
- Stir the mixture until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Stir in the oil.
- Pour over the praline mousse to form a smooth, even layer of glaze.
- Refrigerate until set (the cake will defrost by then too).
- Remove the springform ring and acetate from the cake and enjoy!
- Serves 10 - 12. Keep refrigerated.
Adapted from Ramon Perez, bon appetit and William Angliss.