Chocolate cake with fleur de sel by Christophe Michalak

Method

Creamy dark chocolate ganache:

• 1)

  The day before, put the chopped dark chocolate in a bowl.
  In a saucepan, bring the whipping cream, honey and glucose to a boil.  Pour the mixture in two batches over the chocolate, mix very well.  Blend with a hand blender, then film on contact and reserve in the fridge overnight.

  

  

   

Chocolate financier cake batter:

• 1)

  The same day, preheat the oven to 165C.

  Sift the icing sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.  Put everything in a large bowl with the salt and add the ground almonds.
  Pour the brown butter through a strainer over the honey. Let it cool before adding it to the powders.  Add the white eggs at room temperature, slightly beaten.
  Stir in the chocolate, which you would have previously chopped into small pieces with a knife.  Mix everything well.

   

  

   

• 2)

  Butter the molds and pour 300g of the batter into each mold.

  

   

• 3)

  Bake for 40 minutes.  The cakes are cooked when the knife comes out clean.
  Once cooked, let them cool on a rack for 30 minutes before unmolding.

  

   

• 4)

  Using a tablespoon, spread 70g of chocolate ganache on each cake, conforming to its shape. Keep it in the freezer time to make the chocolate glaze.

  

Milk chocolate glaze:

• 1)

  Melt the chocolate and cocoa butter in a double boiler “bain – marie”, very slowly Add the oil and mix with a hand blender.

   

Caramelized cocoa nibs:

• 1)

  Boil the water and the sugar, until the sugar dissolves.  Then mix this syrup with the nibs.  Arrange the coated cocoa nibs on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.  Bake 10 in an oven preheated to 160C. Take out of the oven to cool and set aside, and sprinkle with fleur de sel.

  

   

Assembly :

• 1)

  Prick the cakes with skewers sticks and dip them in the milk chocolate glaze , cover them completely.
  Sprinkle with caramelized cocoa nibs and decorate with chocolate petals.

  

  Here is Chef Michalak’s version:
  Once you have spread the ganache, sprinkle this part of the cakes entirely with the chocolate roughly chopped , then set aside in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  Prick the cakes with wooden sticks and dip them halfway in the milk chocolate glaze, the chocolate shouldn’t be hot (30C), then place them on a sheet of baking paper before placing them in the fridge for about 20 minutes so that the chocolate freezes.
  Remove the skewers sticks and sprinkle all over with cocoa powder using a strainer.  Finish the decoration by making a line of icing sugar diagonally in the center of the cake.

   

  Enjoy !!