Ingredients
- For the layered cake filling:
- 6 eggs, separated
- 160g caster sugar
- 60g cocoa powder, sifted
- 30g self-raising flour
- For the marquise:
- 160g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
- 80g soft butter
- 80g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 250ml cream
- Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
- Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl and whisk at high speed until the eggs form soft peaks. Add half the sugar and whisk until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks, then set aside.
- Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and add the other half of the sugar. Whisk at high speed until the mix has doubled in size and turned pale; this takes about three minutes. Add the cocoa powder and flour to the egg yolk mix and fold together until it is combined.
- Fold the meringue into the egg yolk mix in three stages, keeping in as much air as possible. Once combined, pour this into the lined loaf tin and tap gently to allow the mix to fill the corners.
- Place the tin in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until a cake tester or skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean. The mix will soufflé up slightly but level out as it cools. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out upside down on to a flat surface and remove the parchment.
- Allow to fully cool, then turn the cake on its side and carefully slice lengthways into pieces approximately 1cm thick. You will need three even pieces; the rest of the cake can be frozen to be used at another other time. Trim the three slices slightly, if needed, into three rectangular pieces, just slightly smaller than the base of the loaf tin.
- Now it’s time to make the marquise base. Break the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Make a bain-marie by pouring a little water in a saucepan and placing the bowl on top (making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl). Place on a low heat, stirring the chocolate pieces occasionally, until fully melted, then take off the heat.
- Place the butter and half the sugar into a bowl. Mix with a stand mixer or electric hand whisk until light and creamy, then add the cocoa powder mix until combined.
- Separate the eggs, keeping the egg whites in the fridge or freezing for later use, and add the egg yolks to another bowl. Add the other half of the sugar and mix until it has doubled in size and turned pale.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until thickened with soft peaks.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the butter mix and carefully stir and fold with a spatula until well combined. Gently fold in the egg yolk mixture until well combined, then stir in the whipped cream.
- Line the loaf tin with cling film, leaving a 10cm overhang all the way around. Spoon in some marquise mix, enough to be around 2cm thick and even, then add the first rectangular piece of trimmed cake. Spoon more marquise mix on to cover the cake layer by around 1cm, then add the second piece of cake. Add more marquise mix to cover, then add the final piece of cake. Cover with the remaining marquise mix, the tap the tin gently to remove pockets of air, place in the fridge and leave to set overnight.
- To serve, carefully lift the marquise out of the loaf tin using the excess cling film and turn upside down on to a clean chopping board. Remove the cling film, then heat a sharp knife in hot water to make it easier to slice the marquise. Dry the knife and slice the marquise in pieces approximately 1-2cm thick.
