Maltesers maze

I actually made this cake some time ago for my niece and nephew but, going through my pictures recently, I thought "why not include it in the blog?". It doesn't fall into the 'small cake' category but has this 'wow' factor (plus it's very easy to make and will please all the dark chocolate aficionados)! So here's what you need to know about it.

For the cake you need:
125 g butter, plus some for greasing
4 eggs
250 g caster sugar
150 g dark chocolate
125 g of sifted flour

For the ganache and decoration you need:
250 g of dark chocolate
25 cl of double cream
4 x 135 g packets of Maltesers (dark and/or white, whatever tickles your fancy)

1. For the cake, preheat your oven to 180°C. Grease two 20 cm round tins with a little butter and line with baking parchment. Melt the rest of the butter for 20 seconds in a microwave.
2. Separate the eggs. In a large bowl, use an electric whisk to mix the yolks with two-thirds of the sugar until it becomes pale. With a large knife, break the chocolate into small chunks and add to the yolk mixture together with the melted butter.
3. In another bowl, whisk the whites until firm and add the rest of the sugar until they become shiny. Then add the whites to the egg and chocolate mixture and fold in gently. Add the sifted flour and mix again.
4. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for about about 30 minutes or until cooked (if a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cakes, then they're ready).
5. For the ganache, break the chocolate into small chunks and put them in a bowl. Bring the double cream to the boil in a small pan and pour over the chocolate. Mix well with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is completely melted and then, with an electric whisk, mix for another five to 10 minutes until it rises and cools down.
6. When the cakes are cool, spread some ganache with a palette knife on top of one of them then sit the other cake on the first one. With the rest of the ganache, completely cover both cakes, top and sides.
7. Now, you become the artist! Arrange your Maltesers in whichever way you like, your imagination is the limit. My only advice would be to make sure there are no gaps between them for a nicer effect.

Coconut and raspberry dominos

This recipe is inspired by a little French cookery book titled 'Desserts'. Raspberries are not in season at the moment but frozen raspberries work just as well. I particularly like these little cakes, with the sweetness of the coconut balancing the acidity of the fruit.

To make 12 dominos you need:

140 g of flour
1 tbsp of ground almond
250 g of sugar
125 g of butter
A pinch of baking powder
2 eggs
Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tsp of lemon juice
150 g of frozen raspberries
45 g of coconut
A little icing sugar
Chocolate balls for decoration

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a small rectangular dish with butter then line it with baking parchment.
2. Mix together 110 g of flour, the ground almond and 60 g of sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and work the mixture until you get a nice soft dough. Place this dough at the bottom of your rectangular dish and cook for 20 minutes. Once golden, take the pastry out of the oven and lower the temperature to 150°C.
3. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla extract and the rest of the sugar with an electric whisk for 4 minutes. Then add the baking powder and the rest of the flour. Mix in the the lemon juice, the raspberries and the coconut and spread the mixture onto your pastry.
4. Bake for 30 minutes. Leave the cake to rest in its dish before dusting it with icing sugar and cutting it into 12 pieces. And if you have the time (and don't mind the hassle), you can place little chocolate balls on top to make them look like dominos.