Expert baker Cecilia Hagerling Larsson welcomes us into her home kitchen to teach us how to craft a not-so-complicated and impossibly delicious chocolate ganache cake, which serves perfectly with a glass of pinot noir this spooky season
Few things are more autumn-coded than a rich chocolate cake, particularly when that cake is decorated with an elegant, Halloween-friendly spiderweb. If, like me, you’re less-than-skilled in the kitchen, baking can be especially spooky. But fear not, for this irresistible chocolate ganache is accessible to even a novice. Go ahead and up the decadence by pairing a slice with a glass of red wine.
On a particularly crisp autumn day, baking expert Cecilia Hagerling Larsson welcomed me into her jealousy-provoking kitchen to teach me the salty sweet secrets of her signature chocolate ganache cake. Whilst melting that mouth-watering ganache, we cracked open a bottle of Maple & Ash pinot noir – a Californian wine with hints of cherries and dark chocolate to mirror the cake, not to mention a dash of spiciness to capture the season.
Click play to watch Larsson walk me through ways of her chocolate ganache, and scroll down for the full recipe.
Halloween Chocolate Cake
Chocolate cake
150 g dark chocolate (at least 55%)
75 g butter
1 3/4 dl granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 krm salt
Chocolate Ganache
150 g dark chocolate (at least 55%)
150 g heavy cream (40%)
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 krm salt
For the Spiderweb
25 g white chocolate
Instructions
1. Prepare the cake
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F).
- Line a round baking tin (18–20 cm in diameter) with parchment paper, covering both the bottom and sides.
- Melt the chocolate and butter together over low heat in a saucepan. Stir gently and remove from the heat once melted.
- Let cool slightly.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Carefully fold in the melted chocolate mixture and the salt using a spatula. Mix until smooth, but don’t over-mix — you want to keep the batter airy.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the middle is just set (it should not be runny).
- Let the cake cool completely in the tin. Once cool, turn it upside down onto a serving plate for a perfectly flat top.
2. Make the chocolate ganache
- Place the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
- In a small saucepan, bring the cream and honey to a boil.
- Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute without stirring.
- Add the butter and salt, then blend or stir until smooth and shiny.
- Let the ganache rest at room temperature until it thickens slightly and becomes pourable (not runny).
3. Decorate
- Pour the ganache over the cooled cake and spread evenly with a spatula.
- Melt the white chocolate and pour it into a piping bag.
- Pipe a spiral pattern from the centre of the cake outward.
- Let the cake set at room temperature or refrigerate briefly before serving with a glass of Maple & Ash pinot noir.
Maple & Ash, Pinot Noir (5114301), 109kr
