LITTLE CHOCOLATE RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease three 9-inch cake pans and line with rounds of parchment or waxed paper.
• In a mixer, cream together butter, sugar and shortening until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time and continue to mix on medium until eggs are well incorporated. Stir in vanilla.
• Sift flour, then add salt, baking soda and baking powder. Sift a second time. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and milk in about 4 additions, then increase speed to medium. Beat until smooth, about 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl.
• Spread 3/4 cup batter in each pan. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, or until cake springs lightly when pressed with a finger. Flip cake out of pan onto paper towels or cake rack while still very warm. Repeat with second set of layers.
• When first layers go into oven, start to make icing. Put sugar and cocoa in a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan and mix well. Turn heat to medium-high and add butter and milks, bringing to a boil. Boil for about 4 minutes, stirring continually, careful to watch that it does not boil over. Lower heat to simmer, add vanilla and stir occasionally for another 7 to 10 minutes. If using a candy thermometer, cook to the point just before soft ball stage or about 230 degrees.
• Begin icing first layers, still warm, when second batch is in the oven. Flip layers over so that top side faces up. Use about 4 tablespoons of icing per layer. Icing will be thin but will firm up as it cools. Stack layers, then continue icing and stacking as layers are baked.
• When all layers are iced and stacked, glaze top and sides of cake. Contours of layers will be visible through icing. If icing hardens too much while frosting cake, set back on low heat and stir until it is spreadable.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 120°C/250°F/gas ¾. Snap the chocolate and melt in a heatproof bowl with 225g of the butter and a pinch of sea salt over a pan of gently simmering water until smooth and glossy, stirring occasionally. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a freestanding mixer on a high speed until light, fluffy and tripled in size. Grease a 25cm round cake tin all over with the remaining butter and line the base with greaseproof paper. Remove the chocolate from the heat, leave to stand for a couple of minutes, then pour it into the egg mixture. Whisk on a medium speed to combine, then pour into the lined tin. Give a few taps on the work surface to bring the air bubbles to the surface, then place the tin into a shallow roasting tray. Place the tray in the oven, then carefully pour enough boiling kettle water into the tray to come halfway up the side of the cake tin. Gently slide the shelf back in and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until set but with a slight wobble. Squeeze the clementine juice through a sieve into a small pan and simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes, or until syrupy enough to coat the back of a spoon. Carefully pour it into a bowl and leave to cool. Remove the torte from the oven and leave to cool in the water-filled tin for 1 hour. Gently loosen the edges with a butter knife, then carefully turn it out onto a serving board and peel off the paper. Slice and serve with a drizzle of clementine syrup.