CHOCOLATE MARZIPAN CAKE RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place unsweetened chocolate in a bowl. Allow a pot of water to come to a boil, remove from heat and place the bowl of chocolate over the pot. Allow chocolate to melt and set aside.
• Sift sugar, flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside. Whisk together 3 tablespoons kirschwasser, hot water, sour cream and vegetable oil. Once blended, slowly whisk in eggs, then stir in the melted chocolate and mix until fully incorporated. Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the batter and mix until smooth.
• Pour batter into a greased and floured 9-inch, deep round cake pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
• While the cake is cooling, place marzipan in a bowl. One at a time, pour the two teaspoons of kirschwasser over the marzipan and knead it until incorporated. Let the marzipan rest for a few minutes to allow it to dry slightly, about 5 minutes. Place the marzipan between two sheets of parchment paper and, using a rolling pin, roll out the marzipan in to a thin circle roughly the size of the cake. Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the pan and lay the marzipan circle on top of the cake. Cut the edges of the marzipan circle to fit the top of the cake.
• Place the semi-sweet chocolate in a bowl. Allow a pot of water to come to a boil, remove from heat and place the bowl of chocolate over the pot. Allow chocolate to melt. Working quickly in 3-inch sections, spread the melted chocolate around the outside rim of the cake. For each section, immediately press the chopped almonds into the chocolate. Continue working in sections until the outside rim is covered with chocolate and almonds. Decorate the top of the cake with German chocolate candies and serve.

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 180°C (approximately 350°F). Line a 20 x 20 cm (approximately 8 x 8 inch) square baking pan with parchment paper.  In a bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Stir the flour with the cocoa, baking powder and pinch of salt in a separate bowl. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and remove from the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the cream: Chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir the chocolate until melted. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. In a bowl, beat the cream with the sugar until stiff peaks form. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the cream into the chocolate, followed by the egg whites.
• Slice the cake in half horizontally. Place the bottom layer in a square cake rim. Top with the chocolate cream and spread in an even layer. Top with the top layer and refrigerate to set, about 2 hours.
• For decoration: Boil the apricot jam and press through a sieve into a bowl. Loosen the cake from the square cake rim and cut the cake in half so there are 2 cakes.
• Lightly dust a work surface with icing sugar. Roll the marzipan out to 3-4 mm (approximately 1/8 inch) thick. Roll over with a cake stamp to create a pattern in the marzipan. Brush the 2 cakes with the apricot jam. Cut the marzipan to fit the cake and lay over top. Cut each cake into 5-6 pieces. From the remaining marzipan, cut out small rounds and place on top of the cake slices, using the apricot jam to adhere. Decorate each cake slice with an almond. Refrigerate until ready to serve.