DB: Chocolate Valentino

This month's Daring Baker's selection was another dessert I made for Alex's birthday. The challenge was hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. They chose a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan. Part of the challenge was also to make an ice cream. The hosts were great in that they provided us with two recipes, a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy. In the notes preceding the recipe they stated that the cake would take on the flavor of the chocolate used. I went a little crazy with this cake and decided to use a combination of semi-sweet, dark, and bittersweet chocolates. I didn't want the cake to taste like one chocolate or the other, rather I wanted it to have a complex chocolate flavor. I wanted it to taste like chocolate but I wanted it to taste like the flavors that all chocolates share, instead of one particular chocolate, if that makes any sense. I decided to use the ice cream recipe provided by Wendy because it was quick and easy. The only alteration I did was that I used vanilla beans instead of vanilla extract. I love seeing the specks of vanilla in my ice cream. The cake and ice cream were a dream. The cake was very, very, very rich and silky. I felt like I was eating a bowl of melted chocolate. The ice cream was a great way to balance the richness of the cake and it highlighted the flavor dynamic of the chocolate's warmth and the vanilla's coolness.

Thanks to Wendy and Dharm for hosting this month! Make sure to check out the Kitchen and the blogroll to see what other delicious ice cream flavors the bakers made this month.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.

Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).

With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}

Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C

Bake for 25 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.

Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Vanilla Philadelphia Style Recipe (Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe)
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

2 cups (473 ml) of half and half (1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole, full fat milk)
1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
2/3 (128 grams) cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla (about 3-inches of vanilla pod sliced open, beans removed)

Mix all ingredients together (we do this in a plastic pitcher and mix with an emulsifier hand blender-whisking works too).

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer

Mix in your ice cream maker as directed.

Can't you just see the richness of the cake?Chocolate and vanilla: a perfect match :)

[The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.]