Description
This cake is an ode to Marie Antoinette’s lavish lifestyle.
Ingredients
Scale
- 13 ½ oz 64% dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup inverted sugar or light corn syrup
- 3 ¼ oz hazelnut paste
- 2 ½ tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- Edible gold powder, for finishing
Instructions
For the ganache:
- Place the dark chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and inverted sugar to a boil over medium heat.
- Remove from the heat and pour over the dark chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes to melt, then stir with a silicone spatula to combine.
- Add the hazelnut paste to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Add the butter and stir until melted. Set aside.
For the base:
- Put the feuilletine in a medium bowl and crush it further by hand. In the top of a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water), combine the milk chocolate, hazelnut paste, and cocoa butter. Cook, stirring over medium heat, until melted and combined.
- Remove from the heat and stir the mixture until a candy thermometer registers 100 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the feuilletine.
- Line a 9 by 13-inch baking sheet with plastic wrap, leaving some overhanging the sides for easy unmolding. Spread the base into the pan using an offset spatula to create a smooth, even layer. Pour the ganache on top and spread it in an even layer. Cover and let the cake set at cool room temperature for 8 hours.
- To serve, lift the cake out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Fill a tall pitcher with very hot water. Warm a long, sharp knife by dipping the blade into the water, then wiping it dry. Use the knife to cut the cake into 24 equal rectangular pieces (each about 4 by 1 inch), warming the knife in the water and then wiping it off between each cut.
- Before serving, use a pastry brush to brush the cocoa powder on top and around the sides of the each piece. Decorate the top of each with a stencil using the edible gold powder.