Recipe: Chocolate Royal cake (“Trianon”)

So yes, last month I celebrated my birthday. 29 years. For the third time.

For some, a birthday is a bit like New Year’s Eve: time of self-analysis, goal-setting and celebration. Personally, I only cared about the cake.

My only reflection could be that not much has happened in the last year: yes, I got a sort of promotion at work, I went to Brazil five times, met a very nice person, the started earning a bit with the blog etc… But what I meant is: I’m not a pastry chef yet. Yet sometimes I still feel like I should flip my desk, run away and open an ice cream shop somewhere fancy! One day…

Anyway, my birthday seemed like the perfect occasion to make me my favourite cake of all: the Chocolate Royal, also called “Trianon“.

I didn’t throw any big party like last year (you can see me below questionably dressed as a whitening Michael Jackson in last year’s 80’s themed birthday party), but the cake was the same: a chocolate mousse with two crunchy layers of dacquoise covered with chocolate, praline paste and crunchy feuillantine (Gavottes). All topped by a classy and super shiny chocolate mirror glaze.

Note: Gavottes is a French brand of “crêpes dentelles”, a famous dessert that has probably no equivalent elsewhere: if you can’t find them, just know they are thin, buttery and super crunchy. If I were outside of France, I would probably replace them with corn flakes.

Photos by my friend Margherita Meani

Don’t forget it is a “Royal” cake, so please treat yourself well when making this recipe: make your own praline paste, spend an almost-ridiculous amount of money on top-quality chocolate and make that glaze shine like there is no tomorrow!

And for you, what is the ideal birthday cake?

Chocolate Royal (Trianon)

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Ingredients

Dacquoise

60g	Egg whites
35g	Granulated sugar (for the egg whites)
55g	Ground almonds
40g	Granulated sugar
15g	Pastry flour
	Sliced almonds or chopped hazelnuts (optional)

Chocolate praline

80g	Crunchy (or any other coarsely-chopped thin and crunchy product, such as corn flakes)
50g	Milk chocolate
150g	Praline paste

Chocolate mousse

120g	Egg yolks
70g	Granulated sugar
25g	Water
200g	Dark couverture chocolate (66%)
400g	Heavy cream, cold (30%-35% fat)

Chocolate mirror glaze

50g	Water
140g	Granulated sugar
45	Cocoa powder
95g	Heavy cream
6g	Sheet gelatin (= 3 x 2g sheets))

Decoration

Chocolate cutouts

Directions

Chocolate mirror glaze

1

Prepare the chocolate mirror glaze the day before using: soften the gelatin in cold water and in the meantime prepare a syrup by bringing the water and sugar to a boil on medium heat

2

Add the sifted cocoa powder and whisk

3

Brink the heavy cream to a boil

4

Incorporate the cream in the cocoa sugar syrup

5

Add the softened gelatin and whisk until it is dissolved. Store refrigerated in an airtight container overnight.

Dacquoise

6

Whip the room-temperature egg whites with half of the sugar at medium speed

7

When the egg whites form soft peaks, add the second half of the sugar and whip at high speed until the whites form stiff peaks

8

Sift (or mix for a few seconds) together the remaining sugar, almonds and flour and add to the whipped egg whites

9

Gently incorporate the powders with a spatula with an upward movement, making sure not to deflate the batter

10

Fill a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip and pipe two 16cm spirals on a parchment lined pan (tip: hold the piping bag vertical a few centimetres over the pan; move the bag while letting the batter fall continuously; you can also draw the desired shape with a pen on the back of the parchment paper)

11

Optional: add the sliced almonds (or any nuts you used, chopped) on top of the batter

12

Bake for 20 minutes at 180°C

Chocolate praline

13

Melt the chocolate over a bain marie

14

Crush all the Gavottes (or simply use corn flakes) then incorporate the melted chocolate and praline paste

Chocolate mousse

15

Bring the water and sugar to a boil then start whipping the egg yolks at maximum speed

16

When the syrup reaches 115°C, pour it slowly but steadily over the egg yolks while mixing at medium speed. Finish whipping at high speed for 10-15 minutes until the mixture forms thick ribbons (this is called "pâte à bombe")

17

Whip the cold cream to soft peaks at high speed, in a chilled bowl if possible. Stopping at the good moment before the cream forms stiff peaks is very important for the final texture of the mousse. Set aside and keep refrigerated.

18

Melt the chocolate over a bain marie

19

Incorporate the pâte à bombe gently into the cream and chocolate mixture

20

Finally incorporate the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture in 3 times with an upward movement, making sure not to deflate the mousse

Assembling the cake

21

Place an 18cm cake ring on a serving plate (with a paperboard round as base, if you can). Cover the inner side of the cake ring with a strip of clear acetate to facilitate unmolding

22

Trim the dacquoise rounds if necessary so that they are 16cm and place the first one in the ring

23

Cover the dacquoise round with the chocolate praline (you can save a handful of praline chunks for decoration)

24

Pour (or better pipe) the chocolate mousse inside the ring until halfway up the edge. Use a spatula to evenly coat the ring all the way up.

25

Place the second round of dacquoise in the middle and fill the ring with the remaining mousse

26

With a long spatula, remove the excess mousse so that the top surface is perfectly smooth and flat. Let the cake set for a couple of hours in the fridge. Then freeze for at least one hour before glazing.

27

Melt the mirror glaze over a bain marie until it reaches 37°C (not more!). You can pour the glaze on a cake starting from the centre towards the sides with a circular movement. It is advisable to place the cake on a wire-rack over a pan, so to collect the excess glaze, or just keep the cake ring in place if you only want to glaze the top.

28

Decorate the cake with the rest of the chocolate praline chunks, caramelized hazelnuts and chocolate cutouts (chocolate-covered hazelnuts will work divinely too)

Note

• The cake can be frozen before glazing for several weeks or just refrigerated for up to 4-5 days.

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