I first made this so long ago its origins are lost to the mists of time, but I am fairly sure it was a straight-up steal from the internet. However, after countless variations I am happy to claim it enough to share it with you all. This is an easy cake to make – there’s no real cooking involved – with very few ingredients, and it can be hustled up in no time, although it does need to set. It’s vegan friendly, if that’s your sort of thing, and almost completely sugar free, the only sweetness coming from the final dusting of icing sugar to serve. The beauty of this cake lies in its texture, and the key to getting this right is the whipping of the coconut. Tame that part properly and you’ll have something soft and light yet not insubstantial. If you do have trouble sourcing a coconut cream that whips nicely, you can make the cake with normal cream.
Makes 1 large cake, 25cm
WHAT YOU NEED
10 black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick, broken up into pieces
½g fennel seeds
1.2g cloves
3 whole cardamom pods
200ml coconut cream, plus 800ml more, cold
60ml arrack
400g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa), chopped
6g cocoa nibs
a small handful of icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting
200ml extra whipped coconut cream, or whipped cream, to serve
WHAT TO DO
Place all the spices in a small frying pan over a medium heat and gently toast for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, then use a mortar and pestle to break them up slightly.
Transfer to a small saucepan with the first batch of coconut cream and 200ml of water and place over a medium heat. Be careful, as once it comes to a boil it tends to overflow. Gently reduce over a low heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. It will go dark and may split; don’t worry. Strain the spices through a fine strainer into a bowl, pressing down to get as much liquid as you can. You should be left with about 150 ml.
To this, add the arrack, then place in the fridge to cool.
Grease the base and side of a 25cm springform cake tin, then line the base with plastic wrap.
Whisk the cold coconut cream in a stand mixer on medium speed until you have soft peaks. Leave the cream in the mixing bowl and rest it in the fridge for about 30 minutes until it sets a little. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Return the bowl with the coconut cream to the stand mixer and beat on medium speed as you pour the melted chocolate over the cream, followed by the cold arrack mix. This will only take a few moments, by which stage your cream will be at soft peaks again. Don’t overwhip or you’ll end up with a gritty texture. This can’t be fixed …
Stop the mixer and use a spatula to give the mix a final turn, making sure to get any last bits of chocolate from the bottom. Transfer the mix to the prepared tin and gently tap it to smooth the top (be careful not to flip the clasp on your springform pan – if your tin opens it can ruin everything). Sprinkle with the cocoa nibs before covering with plastic wrap and placing in the fridge for at least 5 hours to set.
To serve, remove the cake from the tin, being careful to ease it off the plastic wrap on the base. Heavily dust the top of the cake with icing sugar and serve slices with a generous blob of whipped cream.
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