Rich Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone and Pickled Blueberries

 

Ingredients:

125gm unsalted butter

200gm bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 tablespoons water

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup plain flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

4 large eggs, separated

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Two pinches sea salt

250gm mascarpone cheese

1 jar Vasse Virgin Pickled Blueberries

1 heaped tablespoon Vasse Virgin Pure Honey

Method:

Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter and line the bottom with grease-proof paper.

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Once melted together, stir in 2 tablespoons water, then baking powder, flour and cocoa until just combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar, 1 tablespoon water and vanilla, until pale and no longer lumpy. Stir into chocolate mixture until just combined.

In a larger clean bowl, beat egg whites and salt until stiff. Gently fold into chocolate mixture until most of the white streaks disappear. Be careful not to deflated cake.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and rest on rack for 5 minutes. Run knife along outside cake, then invert onto another rack and allow to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, mix together the honey and mascarpone in a bowl. Once the cake has cooled, spread the mascarpone mixture on top of the cake, then top with the pickled blueberries. Drizzle the juice of the berries over the top of the cake and serve!