Han & Becks' Valentines Chocolate and Coffee pots

The Perfect Valentines Dessert!

 

 

Ingredients 

For the Cake:

140ml Hot coffee 

60ml Light Olive Oil

125g Plain Flour

75g Caster Sugar

50g Light Brown Sugar

½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1 Egg

30g Cocoa Powder

½ tsp Salt

30g Dark Chocolate

 

For the Mousse:

100g Dark Chocolate

2 Large Eggs (separated)

20g Caster Sugar

6 Tbsp Coffee (approx 50ml) 

For the Coffee Cream:

100ml Double cream

25ml Coffee 

25ml Condensed Milk

 

Dessert Method

We suggest getting all of your ingredients out and prepared before you start cooking

 

Make the sponge:

1. Grease your cake tin (20cm tin)
2. Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3
3. Roughly smash/cut up your chocolate to break in into smartie-sized pieces
4. Prepare your coffee and put into a large bowl (we used a percolator), add the oil and sugar and whisk. Add your salt and cocoa and stir in
5. Whisk your eggs and add to the bowl then stir in
6. Add your bicarb to your flour then sieve into the other ingredients and fold in. Add chocolate chunks and fold into the cake mixture
7. Tip into the cake tin, smooth the top so it’s all roughly an even height and put into the oven
8. Cook for around 22 minutes. The centre should be cooked but ever so slightly gooey. If it’s too runny, cook for an extra few minutes
9. Remove the cake from the oven, let it cool for half an hour or so before taking it out of the tin
   
   

Once the sponge has cooled make the mousse:

10. Prepare your coffee (we used a percolator)
11. Separate your eggs, being as careful as you can not to get any yolk in the whites
12. Whisk the egg whites until it forms soft peaks (an electric whisk works best but a hand whisk will certainly do!). Then add the sugar and whisk until glossy and the sugar has dissolved
13. Put the chocolate in a bowl and place over a pan of water, make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl and bring the water to a simmer
14. Keep stirring the chocolate and when melted (and still over the heat), add the coffee and then quickly mix in the egg yolks
15. Gently tip the chocolate mixture into the egg whites and fold until all of the ingredients come together (try to be careful not to knock out the air from the egg whites)

 

Now it’s time to cut your sponge to fit whatever vessel you are using. A wide glass or individual dessert bowl will work well but you can definitely make do with a big mug! 

16. First, add a quarter of the mousse to each small bowl, add a layer of sponge, another layer of mousse and a second layer of sponge. (You will have some offcuts from the sponge - you’re welcome)
17. Place your little bowls into the fridge to firm up for half an hour then make your coffee cream
18. Prepare your coffee and then set aside
19. Add the condensed milk to the cream in a bowl and whip (using an electric hand whisk if you have it or a hand whisk and plenty of elbow grease if not!) until it starts to firm up and hold loose shapes
20. Add the coffee and continue to whip until quite firm and holding stiff peaks. It should be almost doubled in volume. Try to avoid over-whipping as it will turn your cream grainy and could split
21. Once your cream is made, spoon generously into your bowls on top of your sponge and mousse then dig in!