Chocolate. Heaven. The only two words that sum up this decadently rich dessert. To enjoy this, you have to like chocolate. And caramelized bananas. And dulce de leche. But then you all do, right? I love patisserie but it's probably best for the waistline that I don't make these delights too often as if I ate such indulgent treats as this everyday, I think I might put on too many pounds!
The Chocolate & Caramelized Banana Gateau comes from Will Torrent's Patisserie At Home which is a beautiful book packed with lots of recipes geared to mastering the art of French pastry in our own kitchens. This is the first recipe I've tried and boy, does it deliver! My only criticism of the step-by-step instructions is that there could be a little more explanation at times.
Before you start this, you need to know that it will take two days to make it. You make the cake, caramelized bananas and chocolate mousse on the first day, freeze to set it and then add the chocolate ganache on the second day. Secondly, you need to be very organised with all your ingredients ready, particularly with the chocolate mousse stage where you need 2 saucepans (one for cream, one for sugar) and 3 bowls (one for gelatine, one for cream, one for mixing the ganache) on the go. There are a lot of ingredients and the method is long, but it's actually easier than it might appear at first if you break down the stages.
The Almond Cake is straightforward to make and just needs a gentle hand to keep it light and full of air. The stated baking time of 5-10 mins is quite a variation for a cake of this depth so do keep an eye on it - mine was ready after 6 mins and I did do a quick skewer test to make sure it was cooked. I didn't have semolina to hand, so opted just to turn it out on the greaseproof paper and the side touching the paper was a little sticky when I removed it later. This doesn't change the taste of the cake at all, but makes it a little trickier to cut and when you lift it, be careful that it doesn't tear
The Dulce De Leche and Caramelized Bananas were very straightforward, although it was a job resisting the cooked bananas as they were extremely yummy!
The Chocolate Mousse was again straightforward but you need to be very organised and have your mind on all your bowls at once so I'd suggest getting everything into their individual pans and bowls before you start everything boiling and whipping and then follow the instructions closely.
Finally the Chocolate Ganache was again simple to make although my chocolate didn't completely melt (I had a few lumps in it) after stirring and the mixture had cooled down enough that they weren't going to melt. So (I'm sure this is against all rule for making ganache) I popped it in the microwave for 10 seconds and then stirred out the remaining lumps before pouring it onto my cake.
The most challenging part of this bake, is what to do with it when it's ready. You want it still cold enough that you can remove the paper without any damage to the sides of the cake (which are made of the mousse) but then it's near on impossible to get it onto a pretty serving plate with any damage. As I've noted in the method below, I noticed in the photo's background in Will Torrent's book, he's served it on the tin base with the greaseproof paper still attached so that might be the easier option!
This is delicious but incredibly rich so I suggest serving it when you have lots of friends around for a dinner party (I feel my waistline expanding as I eat my first slice!) And I love the idea of individual mini ones served with a few simple strawberries.
Chocolate & Caramelized Banana Gateau (from Will Torrent's Patisserie At Home)
Almond Cake Ingredients
- 60G EGG WHITES (ABOUT 2 EGG WHITES)
- 40G CASTER SUGAR
- 2 EGGS
- 65G GROUND ALMONDS
- 40G ICING SUGAR
- 1¼ TBSP PLAIN FLOUR
- 1¼ TBSP COCOA POWDER
- 1 TBSP BUTTER, MELTED AND COOLED
- SEMOLINA TO DUST THE GREASEPROOF PAPER
- 400G DULCE DE LECHE (1 TIN)
Caramelized Banana Ingredients
- 2 TSP BUTTER
- 2 LARGE BANANAS SLICED INTO SMALL ROUNDS
- 50G CASTER SUGAR
Chocolate Mousse Ingredients
- 2 SHEETS GELATINE
- 120G CASTER SUGAR
- 240ML WHIPPING CREAM
- 560 ML WHIPPING CREAM
- 200G DARK CHOCOLATE, CHOPPED
Ganache Ingredients
- 100ML WHIPPING CREAM
- 1 TBSP GLUCOSE
- 1½ TBSP BUTTER
- 120G DARK CHOCOLATE, CHOPPED
- 80G MILK CHOCOLATE, CHOPPED
You will also need a swiss roll pan lined with greaseproof paper and an 8 inch round springform cake with the bottom and sides lined with greaseproof paper
Method - Day 1
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees (my oven is a fan oven and this temperature was fine for my cake)
- Melt the butter (1 tbsp) for the Almond Cake and leave aside to cool
- Line the swiss roll and springform pans with greaseproof paper
- To make the Almond Cake, put the egg whites and sugar in a stand mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form
- Whisk in the whole eggs until incorporated
- Gently fold in the ground almonds, icing sugar, flour and cocoa powder using a metal spoon
- Stir in the melted butter
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared swiss roll tin and bake for 5-10 mins (now the difference of 5 mins for a cake like this is a lot, so what I looked for was a good colour and I pierced the centre with a skewer and it came out clean - this took mine 6 mins)
- Dust some greaseproof paper with semolina and then flip your cake onto it, peeling off the greaseproof paper off the back of the cake
- Leave to cool
- To make the Caramelized Bananas, place your frying pan over a medium heat, add the butter and then fry the bananas for a minute
- Add the sugar and then keep stirring them until the bananas have caramelized (they turn a golden brown colour and mine went a little mushy - all good!)
- Transfer to a sheet of greaseproof paper and leave to cool
- Then take your Almond Cake and cut out a round that's 1 inch smaller than your cake tin (my cake tin was 8 inches, so I cut a 7 inch cake circle)
- Place this in the centre of your tin so there's an even gap all around it
- Top the cake the the Dulce De Leche and smooth until it's level, but still leaving the inch gap empty around the cake
- Then top the Dulce De Leche with the caramelized bananas again leaving the inch gap around the cake empty
- To make the Chocolate Mousse, first put the gelatine in cold water to soften
- Then put the sugar in a saucepan over a low heat and leave it without stirring
- In a separate saucepan, bring the 240ml whipping cream to the boil over a low heat
- Beat the remaining cream in a separate bowl until soft peaks form
- In your first saucepan, your sugar should be melting and turning brown around the edges - only when it has turned a deep golden colour (but not dark golden) do you want to stir it and ensure that all the sugar has melted
- Over a low heat, slowly and carefully pour this into your boiled cream in stages (this will bubble and rise up and there will be a lot of heat coming from the pan so just take your time and add it slowly)
- Squeeze the water from the gelatine and put it in a heatproof bowl with the chocolate
- Add the cream and caramel mixture and stir until all the chocolate is melted
- Immediately fold in the whipped cream to make your mousse
- Spoon this mousse over your cake right up to the edges of the tin and smooth the surface
- Place in the freezer overnight to set
Method - Day 2
- Remove your cake from the freezer and place in the fridge so it starts to defrost
- Then to make your Chocolate Ganache, put the cream, glucose and butter in a saucepan and bring it the boil over a low heat
- Pour it into a heatproof bowl and add the chocolate
- Using a spatula, start the stir in a circular motion just in the middle of the bowl until the chocolate starts to melt and emulsify with the the cream mixture
- Gradually widen the circle until all the chocolate has melted
- Pour this over the top of your mousse and put it in the fridge to set
- Only when the ganache has completely set (I took mine out after 15-20 mins) can you remove the tin and greaseproof paper
- Release the springform tin and then slowly remove the greaseproof paper from the side
- It is difficult to get this cake onto a cake plate without damaging the mousse and I notice in is photo, that Will Torrent has served his cake on the base of the tin with the greaseproof paper still attached
- Finally, to cut the cake, use a sharp knife that has been heated in hot water to give you sharp, straight edges.