Rocky Road Truffle Cake

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup walnut halves, lightly toasted
• cornstarch, for dusting
• 4 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 cup sugar, plus
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar syrup or 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• walnut halves (optional)

Recipe

• 1 for brownie layer: preheat oven to 350°f.
• 2 grease an 8 inch square pan and line with parchment so that paper hangs over sides of pan.
• 3 melt chocolate in a bowl over a pot of gently simmering water, stirring constantly.
• 4 cool chocolate to room temperature and stire in butter by hand until smooth.
• 5 stir in sugar gently and add eggs, one at a time, until blended.
• 6 stir in vanilla.
• 7 gently mix flour and salt into chocolate and stir in walnuts.
• 8 scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 19 to 22 minutes, until cake takes on a dull colour and feels firm when touched.
• 9 allow to cool completely.
• 10 for marshmallow layer: line an 8 inch square pan with parchment, and dust generously with cornstarch.
• 11 sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup of cold water, stir and set aside for 5 minutes.
• 12 melt gelatin over low heat and keep warm.
• 13 bring remaining 1/4 cup water, sugar and glucose syrup to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until sugar reaches 245f on a candy thermometer, 7 minutes.
• 14 while sugar is cooking, whip egg whites with beaters or in a mixer until foamy.
• 15 when sugar reaches proper temperature, pour it carefully in a stream down the side of the bowl while mixing on medium speed.
• 16 once incorporated, pour in melted gelatin and vanilla and whip mixture on high speed until thick and , about 4 minutes.
• 17 pour marshmallow into prepared pan, sift top with cornstarch to prevent sticking, and let set for at least 2 hours before unmoulding.
• 18 for truffle ganache, heat cream to just below a simmer and pour over chopped chocolate.
• 19 let sit 1 minute, then stir slowly until evenly blended.
• 20 stir in butter until melted inches.
• 21 let cool for at least 30 minutes, or chill until ready to assemble.
• 22 for assembly, remove brownie from pan in 1 piece by lifting parchment overhang.
• 23 brush top of brownie with a layer of ganache (if ganache sets up, just rewarm to melt).
• 24 brush excess cornstarch off marshmallow and turn over onto brownie.
• 25 peel off parchment from marshmallow carefully, with a hot knife, cut dessert into 9 to 16 squares and arrange on a platter.
• 26 once truffle ganache has cooled enough to pipe, pipe a swirl on top of each square.
• 27 each cake can be garnished with a toasted walnut half, if desired.