Chocca Mocha Rum Cake

Wow this is definitely one for grown-ups. Dark rich ganache laced with coffee & rum and whipped cream with a little added dark rum and even more ganache.The cake itself is beautifully moist with a little kick of coffee & rum. I made the truffles from some rum flavoured ganache and rolled them in a little chopped chocolate. I suppose I should have 8 to 10 as that's how many it's going to serve. Now no fighting over these three please.

The Ingredients for the cake.

100 gram bar of 70% solid dark chocolate melted
2 tbsp cocoa powder sieved together with
220gms/ 8oz self raising flour sifted together with
1 level tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt
220g/8oz softened unsalted butter or margarine (I used Stork margarine)
220g/8oz caster sugar
1 heaped tsp of coffee granules dissolved in
2 tbsp dark rum
4 large eggs beaten.

Ingredients for the Ganache

200g of 70% solid dark chocolate
150ml /¼ double cream
50g/2oz unsalted butter
1 tbsp dark rum (optional)

The truffles were made with a little left over ganache rolled in chopped chocolate
a few optional chocolate triangles broken from a bar were added to my cake

Ingredients for the Mocha Cream

570ml /1 pint of double cream
50gms/2oz sifted icing/confectioners sugar
3 tbsp of the prepared ganache
1 tbsp dark rum

Set the oven to 180c/350f/gas 4
Grease and line an 8inch/20cm springform tin with parchment paper

Method.

Beat the sugar & butter/margarine until light & fluffy
carry on beating adding a little of the egg at a time until all is incorporated.
Add the cocoa & flour mix a few spoonfuls at a time folding in with a metal spoon as you go along.
Add the disolved coffee & rum and the melted chocolate and carefully stir through until beautifully even.
Place in the prepared tin.
Bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 50 mins to 1 hr when a skewer placed in the centre should come out clean.
Cool in the tin for around 10 mins
Turn out onto a wire rack and leave until completely cold.

The Ganache.(can be made a little in advance)

Place all the ingredients into a heatproof bowl
Place over a pan of hot but not boiling water making sure the base of the bowl is not touching the water.
Stir occasionally until all is mixed together and becoming smooth & glossy.
Leave to cool naturally. Do not place it in the fridge or the ganache will lose it's sheen.
Do not use until it starts to thicken or it will run all over the place.
If it gets a little too thick just place over a bowl of warm water while stirring contiually until it begins to loosen again

The Mocha Cream

Place the cream, sugar and 3 tbsp of ganache in a bowl and whisk until it begins to thicken. Add the rum and lightly whisk again until soft peaks begin to form It is now ready.

The Truffles

If you have any ganache left over, just add a tiny bit more rum and roll into balls then coat with either chopped chocolate or cocoa.

To assemble the cake.

Please make sure the cake is cold before you start to fill it.
Cut the cake cleanly in half.
Turn the cake upside down so the bottom now becomes a nice flat top to work on.
use around half the mocha cream to fill the centre
Place the other half on top
Using a palette knife smooth over almost all of the remaining ganache just leaving a little if you want to top with a few truffles.
using a large star nozzle pipe mocha cream rosettes around the edges.
Finish off with the truffles and perhaps a few chocolate triangles as I have done.