brown butter & toffee chocolate cake
A cake I made for my gluten-free friend’s birthday – Intensely chocolatey, with notes of brown butter, pecans, and creamy caramel.
The layers
100g dark chocolate
100mL heavy cream
finely chop dark chocolate, microwave together with heavy cream in 10s intervals, stirring inbetween until the chocolate is fully melted and incorporated with the cream
450g butter
300g milk chocolate
50g dark chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
Brown the butter and let it cool down a little before pouring it over the finely chopped chocolate
Stir until all the chocolate is melted and incorporated
Let the mixture cool until it is cold to the touch but still liquid
200g egg whites
400g sugar
1 tsp salt
Add all ingredients to a large metal bowl and heat it over a water bath, continuously stirring until the sugar has been completely dissolved or until the egg whites reach 67°C
Remove the egg whites from the water bath and beat on high until stiff peaks form and the egg whites are nice and glossy
Once the egg whites are cold to the touch, slowly incorporate the brown butter-chocolate mixture
If the buttercream separates or loses volume, refrigerate and whip back up – trust the process, the whipping takes its time but it will come back together!
3 egg whites (room temperature)
75g caster sugar
60g pecans (roasted and milled)
10g cornstarch
Whip up the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add in the sugar (one tbsp at a time) until stiff peaks form
Whisk the sugar together with the ground pecans and gently fold it into the meringue – make sure not to over-mix it, otherwise the egg whites fall together
Using the cake ring as a stencil, add half of the meringue to a baking-sheet lined baking tray, spread evenly, remove cake ring and repeat with second half of meringue (so you end up with two pecan meringue layers)
Bake at 200°C for 10min
(these can be stored at room temperature for up to a week in advance)
350g sugar
1oog butter
20mL maple syrup
1 tsp salt
100g chopped roasted pecans
Add everything except for the pecans to a saucepan and heat over medium-high until the sugar starts to caramelise and the mixture turns golden-brown
Remove from heat, stir in chopped roasted pecans, and pour onto lined baking sheet to cool off
Either chop them into small chunks or add them into a sturdy plastic bag and bash it with a rolling pin – great if you need to let some steam out too!
100g sugar
20mL maple syrup
90g browned butter
80mL heavy cream (at least room temp)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
Add the sugar and maple syrup to a saucepan and heat over medium-high until all the sugar is caramelised
Remove from heat and add in the heavy cream (careful, the mixture will bubble up – if there are chunks of caramel, place it back on a low heat and stir until smooth)
Finish it off with browned butter, vanilla, and salt – stir until the mix in smooth and homogenous
Cool down before using it in the cake
(It does get very thick in the fridge, so I’d recommend cooling it down at room temp, as re-heating can cause the butter to separate)
200g browned butter
400g milk chocolate
300mL extra thick double cream
2tbsp Bailey’s
1tsp salt
Brown the butter and let it cool off slightly before pouring it over the finely chopped milk chocolate
Mix until the chocolate is melted and fully combined with butter
Incorporate vanilla, salt, and Bailey’s
Cover with cling film to prevent skin formation, and let it cool down completely (fridge)
Once cool, whip it up until light and fluffy
Whip up the thick double cream (or double cream) and gently fold in the whipped cream into the whipped ganache
225g butter
340g dark chocolate
Brown half the butter, remove from heat, add in remaining butter to further cool down the browned butter before pouring it over the finely chopped dark chocolate until it’s homogenous
86g cocoa powder
30g cornstarch
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp instant coffee (dissolved in 1tsp water)
Add everything into the butter-chocoalte mixture and whisk until no lumps remain
300g caster sugar
6 large eggs
Beat until very light and fluffy (8-10min)
Slowly pour in the butter-chocolate mixture and continue beating on high
Line 8″ cake form with parchment paper, pour in the batter, and give it a few taps on the counter to get rid of any large air bubbles
Bake at 200°C for 40-50min or until a toothpick comes out clean
Let it cool down completely before cutting off the top to create a smooth layer and cutting it into two layers (I like using a cake leveller, but a bread knife works too)
I also made a chocolate syrup to drench the cakes in using equal parts sugar and water together with a few tbsp of cocoa powder and a touch instant coffee – bubble until all the sugar is dissolved, then spoon over the cake layers
tbh though, the cake is already very moist and doesn’t need the extra syrup
100g sugar
20mL maple syrup
90g browned butter
80mL heavy cream (at least room temp)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
Add the sugar and maple syrup to a saucepan and heat over medium-high until all the sugar is caramelised
Remove from heat and add in the heavy cream (careful, the mixture will bubble up – if there are chunks of caramel, place it back on a low heat and stir until smooth)
Finish it off with browned butter, vanilla, and salt – stir until the mix in smooth and homogenous
Cool down before using it in the cake
(It does get very thick in the fridge, so I’d recommend cooling it down at room temp, as re-heating can cause the butter to separate)
350g sugar
1oog butter
20mL maple syrup
1 tsp salt
100g chopped roasted pecans
Add everything except for the pecans to a saucepan and heat over medium-high until the sugar starts to caramelise and the mixture turns golden-brown
Remove from heat, stir in chopped roasted pecans, and pour onto lined baking sheet to cool off
Either chop them into small chunks or add them into a sturdy plastic bag and bash it with a rolling pin – great if you need to let some steam out too!
200g browned butter
400g milk chocolate
300mL extra thick double cream
2tbsp Bailey’s
1tsp salt
Brown the butter and let it cool off slightly before pouring it over the finely chopped milk chocolate
Mix until the chocolate is melted and fully combined with butter
Incorporate vanilla, salt, and Bailey’s
Cover with cling film to prevent skin formation, and let it cool down completely (fridge)
Once cool, whip it up until light and fluffy
Whip up the thick double cream (or double cream) and gently fold in the whipped cream into the whipped ganache
225g butter
340g dark chocolate
Brown half the butter, remove from heat, add in remaining butter to further cool down the browned butter before pouring it over the finely chopped dark chocolate until it’s homogenous
86g cocoa powder
30g cornstarch
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp instant coffee (dissolved in 1tsp water)
Add everything into the butter-chocoalte mixture and whisk until no lumps remain
300g caster sugar
6 large eggs
Beat until very light and fluffy (8-10min)
Slowly pour in the butter-chocolate mixture and continue beating on high
Line 8″ cake form with parchment paper, pour in the batter, and give it a few taps on the counter to get rid of any large air bubbles
Bake at 200°C for 40-50min or until a toothpick comes out clean
Let it cool down completely before cutting off the top to create a smooth layer and cutting it into two layers (I like using a cake leveller, but a bread knife works too)
I also made a chocolate syrup to drench the cakes in using equal parts sugar and water together with a few tbsp of cocoa powder and a touch instant coffee – bubble until all the sugar is dissolved, then spoon over the cake layers
tbh though, the cake is already very moist and doesn’t need the extra syrup
200g browned butter
400g milk chocolate
300mL extra thick double cream
2tbsp Bailey’s
1tsp salt
Brown the butter and let it cool off slightly before pouring it over the finely chopped milk chocolate
Mix until the chocolate is melted and fully combined with butter
Incorporate vanilla, salt, and Bailey’s
Cover with cling film to prevent skin formation, and let it cool down completely (fridge)
Once cool, whip it up until light and fluffy
Whip up the thick double cream (or double cream) and gently fold in the whipped cream into the whipped ganache
3 egg whites (room temperature)
75g caster sugar
60g pecans (roasted and milled)
10g cornstarch
Whip up the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add in the sugar (one tbsp at a time) until stiff peaks form
Whisk the sugar together with the ground pecans and gently fold it into the meringue – make sure not to over-mix it, otherwise the egg whites fall together
Using the cake ring as a stencil, add half of the meringue to a baking-sheet lined baking tray, spread evenly, remove cake ring and repeat with second half of meringue (so you end up with two pecan meringue layers)
Bake at 200°C for 10min
(these can be stored at room temperature for up to a week in advance)
the assembly
The Finished Cake
