Chocolate halva and blackcurrant cake

A chocolate cake with halva and blackcurrants. It’s a flavour combination you’ll want to come back to again and again… I used frozen blackcurrants to decorate the cake, but when they’re in season, there’s nothing to stop you using fresh instead. Simple and delicious! And you certainly don’t need to wait for a special occasion to make it… ;).

Ingredients for the chocolate cake:

• 100 g butter
• 200 g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 30 ml dark rum
• 150 ml milk
• 3 teaspoons instant coffee
• 170 g plain flour
• 50 g cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 50 g dark chocolate, grated

All the ingredients should be at room temperature. Warm the milk, add the coffee, stir until dissolved and leave to cool to room temperature.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the rum and continue beating until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda directly into the bowl, then add the milk and coffee mixture in two additions. Mix with a spatula just until combined. Finally, fold in the grated chocolate.

Line the base of a 20 or 21 cm springform tin with baking paper. Pour in the batter and level the surface.

Bake at 160°C for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Cut into 2 layers.

Ingredients for the halva cream:

• 300 ml double cream
• 200 g halva, e.g. vanilla
• 250 g mascarpone, chilled

The night before, pour the double cream into a small saucepan and add the chopped halva. Heat gently, stirring frequently, until the halva has melted and you have a smooth sauce. Leave to cool, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 12 hours (overnight).

Just before assembling the cake, take the chilled halva sauce and mascarpone out of the fridge. Place them in the bowl of a mixer and whisk briefly, using the whisk attachment, until you have a thick cream. Important: Once the cream is fully combined and thick, do not whisk it any further. It will become runny and may split.

Additionally:

• about 220 g blackcurrant jam (warmed if it is quite firm) or blackcurrant preserve
• frozen blackcurrants (fresh when in season)
• white and dark chocolate shavings

Method:

Place the first chocolate layer on a cake stand. Spread with the blackcurrant jam (if you warmed it, allow the layer to cool before adding the cream). Spread half of the halva cream over the jam. Cover with the second chocolate layer. Spread the remaining halva cream over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the sides with chocolate shavings. Arrange the blackcurrants on top. Chill in the fridge.

Before serving, it’s best to take the cake out of the fridge 30 minutes in advance, allowing the chocolate in the cake to soften slightly.

Enjoy!