Everyone thinks I am being modest when I say I am not a natural baker. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. I do LOVE to bake, however, and it’s only through perseverance and practice over YEARS that I got any good at it, and this story will set the record straight. This is the very first cake I ever learnt to make. My cake guru Erica Katlav taught me how to make it, and many more. She is an AMAZING baker. Apparently every woman in Israel knows how to make this cake, it’s kind of the initiation cake, or so I have been told. Its literal translation is three-layer cake.
I remember watching Erica make the cake with such ease as I was taking notes. The following Friday night I announced that I would be bringing a cake to dinner which I had MADE! By Friday I lost the notes and was unable to contact Erica so I decided to wing it, after all, there are like three and a half ingredients in this cake, so if I put a little more or a little less WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG... I made the cake and it didn’t look half bad. After dinner I rushed to the fridge feeling chuffed. I walked back, puffed up like a peacock, holding the cake with both hands making sure it was secure. I remember my sister Sara Chimes was the first to tuck in, she even complimented me saying it tasted really good. Two minutes later she ran to the bathroom to throw up. Everyone stayed clear of the cake, but not my loyal sister Sara. She came back sat down and announced, “it must be me, I’ll give it one more try” and she went back for seconds two minutes later she was running to the bathroom. She came back to declare, "it’s not me it’s definitely your cake NO BODY eat it!" I had put waaaaaaayyyy too much margarine in the chocolate sauce (in those days we were told margarine was good for you) and God knows what else, but I remember watching my cake being thrown into the bin. That was 27 years ago. So much for me being a natural. This cake has evolved a little over the years, and no one has thrown up after eating it since. In fact, it’s my children’s favourite and I can make it with one hand tied behind my back and my eyes closed. I honestly can’t tell you how many times I have made this cake but it’s A LOT! And every time I made it, it would be demolished in seconds and someone would always miss out, so I have turned it into a six-layer cake. But you can just keep it at three layers if you have one of those households where you don’t have to fight people for your fair share of dessert.
Ingredients
Cake
4 eggs separated
6 tablespoons caster sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon self-raising flour
Cream topping
300mls pure cream
1 packet instant pudding vanilla (if you don't have Instant pudding, just whip the cream by itself)
¾ cup milk
1 packet (25g) vanillin sugar
Chocolate ganache
115g semi-sweet chocolate (I use half milk chocolate, half dark chocolate)
240ml thickened cream
Note: If you want to make a thicker ganach just add more chocolate.· If you want the ganach more runny, simply add more cream. Add a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency
Method
Cake
Pre heat the oven to 170c.
Line a 22cm cake tin with baking paper and brush paper with oil.
In an electric mixer whisk the egg white until soft peaks form and add sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Once egg white is stiff, lower the speed to slow and add egg yellow, one yolk at a time, until combined.
Add cocoa powder and self-raising flour and mix for one minute on low and another on high speed.
If mixture isn’t smooth just combine the ingredients by hand, using a spoon.
Pour cake mixture into prepared cake tin and bake for approx 25 min or when inserted skewer comes out clean.
Cream topping
While the cake is baking, prepare cream topping.
In an electric mixer, whisk all cream topping ingredients together until firm. Transfer to fridge.
Chocolate ganache
Chop the chocolate up in a heat-proof bowl.
Heat the cream in a small pot over low heat but not to the point that it’s boiling. Or you can heat in microwave for approx 40-45 seconds, depending on your microwave.
Remove from stove and pour over chocolate. Let it sit for a minute before whisking it by hand until smooth.
Assemble
Once cake has baked and has cooled down completely spread /pour ganach on top of cake.
Using a piping bag decorate cake with cream.
I made a two layered cake. If you want to make a two layered cake simply place second cake on top of cream and repeat. You don’t have to use a piping bag, you can simply spread cream on top of cake then pour ganache on top of cream.
Or you can spread the cream on top of cake first then pour the ganache on top.
Love,
Nava.
PS - I love hearing from you! Let me know how it went and feel free to spread the word/passion/love, the more the merrier!
