Melt-and-Mix Chocolate Dessert Cake (Donna Hay) and Crème Anglaise / Custard Pouring Sauce with No Cream (Barefoot Contessa)

If I'm a mathematician, I'm going to say...

Donna Hay + Barefoot Contessa = a Beautiful Cake!

Obviously, I'm not... LOL!

However, I believe in this equation in this case as the combination of Donna Hay's one bowl chocolate dessert cake and Ina Garten's crème anglaise has worked really well for me.

Love love love this chocolate dessert cake served with crème anglaise. Besides my always favourite Donna Hay's melt-and-mix gluten free chocolate cake, this combination made another fantastic melt-and-mix chocolate cake from Donna Hay! This cake is extremely chocolaty and moist. It is extremely easy to bake. Extremely fail-proof... I would say! An extreme chocolate cake not to miss.

To balance the richness of this cake, Donna Hay has suggested cream and berries in her recipe but I insist ...

• Something creamy but with lesser fat to worry... 
• Something light but not thin to dilute the flavour of this cake...
• Something sweet to match the bitterness of dark chocolate...
• Something not too acidic, sour and fruity...
• Something not too cold or icy like ice cream...

All because I want to have enjoy my cake with a comfort degree of warmness and this crème anglaise recipe by Barefoot Contessa is exactly the chocolate cake companion that I'm after.

Donna Hay + Barefoot Contessa = a Beautiful Cake?

What say you?...

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It is school holidays now in Melbourne, Australia. For this reason, my family and I had decided to take this opportunity to have a Easter break from our normal routine. We will be going to Singapore and Phuket for the next two weeks. I apologise that I have left the ongoing Cook Like a Star, all star anniversary and Little Thumb Up, Orange event temporarily. I promise that I will be back in the end of April to conclude both events and hope to have your continuing participation while I'm away. See ya!

Donna Hay + Barefoot Contessa = A Beautiful Chocolate Cake

To bake this cake, all you need to do is melt...

... mix...

... and bake!

After baking: Can't test the cake with a skewer. It will look uncooked but is actually cooked!

Dust the cake with cocoa and it is ready to serve.

This is how I made the crème anglaise.

I will not forget to add vanilla into my crème anglaise :)

Look! This cake is so moist and chocolaty!

Need a chocolate cake for Easter? Yes, please! I like to bake this cake! 

Happy Easter!

Here are the recipes (with my notes and modification in blue)

Melt-and-Mix One Bowl Chocolate Dessert Cake by Donna Hay from LifeStyle Food

125g butter, chopped
375g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

(I used Callebaut dark chocolate callets with 70% cocoa)
1 cup (175g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (35g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
2 tbsp milk
1 cup (120g) almond meal (ground almonds)
5 eggs
cocoa, for dusting

Preheat oven to 170°C or 150°C fan forced.

Place the butter and chocolate in a bowl and either microwave in short bursts until melted or melt in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

Add the sugar, flour, milk and almond meal and mix to combine. Add the eggs and mix well.

Pour mixture into a greased 22cm round springform tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Cover the tin with aluminium foil and bake for 40 mins.

Uncover and cool in the tin. Dust with cocoa and serve with cream and berries.

Note: Using 2/5 of the recipe and a 14 cm round loose bottom pan lined with baking paper and its bottom well-covered with foil, I have baked the cake at 150°C fan forced for 40 mins.

Crème Anglaise by Barefoot Contessa mostly adapted from Food Network

According to Wikipedia, crème anglaise is a light pouring custard used as a dessert cream or sauce. It is typically a mixture of sugar, egg yolks and hot milk, often flavoured with vanilla. This lower fat version contains cornstarch / cornflour as thickener.

Make enough to serve one 14 cm cake

2 egg yolks
50g cup sugar (can reduce if you prefer it to be less sweet)
1/2 tsp cornstarch / cornflour
210ml scalded milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste or seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean
3/4 tsp cognac, optional (I didn't add this because we were eating this with my 5 year old)

Beat the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed for 3 mins, or using a whisk by hand until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add cornstarch .

With the mixer still on low, slowly pour (or whisk in) the hot milk into the eggs. Pour the custard mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened. The custard will coat the spoon like heavy cream. Don't over-cook it (above 180°F) or the eggs will scramble!

For a smoother texture, pour the sauce through a fine strainer or process it slightly with a hand blender. Add the vanilla extract or paste or seeds and Cognac and serve with a cake.

Happy Baking
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