Vanillicious.com – Easy Desserts

Few weeks ago I was invited for a festive brunch at friends’ house (I think it was more like a mansion), and there were loads of great sweet treats. I was tasting almost all of the served dessert, yet,the most impressive item I had was a chocolate cake with cream filling and strawberries, made by a teenager. I’m telling you, if this is heaven, I promise to be good for the rest of my life!

She forgot the name of the cake, but she said the recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s The Return of the Naked Chef . I assumed the recipe can be found online pretty easily, even without knowing its name. How wrong was I! Then I figured that once I know the name of the cake, I’ll just find it online. And that’s exactly what i did. Last week, after a long day at the office, I found myself heading to a book store. I went up the stairs to the 2nd floor, where the cooking books can be found, and started looking for the book. Since it’s a Jamie Oliver book, it wasn’t too hard to find. It was hard, though to remain focused while surrounded with all the cooking book, so I spend quite a while at the store. And yes, of course I found that the amazing cake that made me perform this enquiry is simply named Party Cake. When I was home I found the recipe on one of the discussion groups on Jamie Oliver’s official website, and nowhere else! Mission accomplished! Or at least the first part of it!

After reviewing the recipe, I couldn’t help it and decided to modify it, but to be honest – I always do.  So I decided to make the base of the cake a little more moisty than it was supposed to be. I also decided to exchange some of the cream with mascarpone cheese, since it goes very well with strawberries.

A quick note: I admit this cake might take a little longer than the usual sponge cake, but it’s worth every minute of your time! But still, even though the recipe and instructions might look long, the cake is very simple to make and will take less time than you would think! Unless you bake for fun, then I say: take your time, and enjoy every moment, like I usually do!

A few tips:

• The base: Cut the cake horizontally only when it has cooled completely. By then it is less likely to break. And of course, you’re less likely to burn your fingers!
• The cream filling: If you can’t find mascarpone cheese or if it’s over-priced (which is a good enough reason!), you can stick to the original recipe and whip 500ml of double or whipping cream (the latter consists less fats).
• Start whipping the cream and cheese for the filling and assemble the cake when the base has cooled completely.
• The berries for filling: I couldn’t find fresh raspberries at the store the day I was shopping for the cake, so I got some blueberries instead. I also added some frozen raspberries to the filling, and it was as good.

So here’s my version of Jamie Oliver’s party cake:

You’ll need:

• 23cm springform tin or 20x20cm loose-bottom sandwich tins

For the base:

• 250g butter, softened
• 275g sugar
• 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
• 4 eggs
• 350g self raising flour
• 250g cream cheese
• 150g melted chocolate of your choice (dark, milk or a combination of both)
• 1 handful of flaked almonds (optional)

For the filling:

• 200ml whipping cream
• 4 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
• 200g Mascarpone cheese
• 250g strawberries
• 150g raspberries

For the chocolate Topping:

• 100g butter
• 100g milk or dark chocolate
• 100g icing sugar
• 3 tbsp milk

How to:

The base:

(1) Preheat the oven to 175c

(2) Cream the butter and both sugars together until pale and fluffy

(3) Gradually add the eggs

(4) Fold in the flour

(5) Fold in the cream cheese and milk

(6) Fold in the melted chocolate until incorporated

(7) Fold in the almonds

(8) Pour the cake mixture in the tin(s)

(9) Place the tin(s) in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes

(10) Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool a before assembling the cake

(11) Once the cake has cooled completely, cut it in two horizontally

The filling:

(1) Whip the cream and sugar to soft peaks

(2) Add the mascarpone cheese and mix until incorporated

(3) Spread the cream over the bottom half of the cake, then sprinkle the berries

(4) Place the other half of the cake on top of the filling and press down a little

(5) Run a knife around the edge of the cake to smooth it off

The chocolate topping:

(1) Melt the chocolate topping ingredients in a bowl over slightly simmering water

(2) Stir until blended well and remove from the heat

(3) Allow to cool for a few minutes

(4) Drizzle the chocolate topping over the assembled cake

(5) Allow the chocolate topping to firm up in your fridge before serving

You’ve done it! Now go and enjoy every bite, just don’t forget to share, even when you find it extremely hard!

Tags: chocolate, Chocolate cake, cream, raspberries, strawberries

3 Responses to “Jamie Oliver’s Party Cake”

Leave me a comment!

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)