Chocolate Sponge with Strawberries, Mascarpone, & Ganache. This decadent cake features layers of fluffy cake with creamy vanilla filling and lashes of chocolate ganache. Perfect for your next special occasion!
Serves 8
Mocha Ganache
600g dark chocolate, chopped
60ml espresso
300ml pouring cream
Vanilla Mascarpone
750ml mascarpone
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
¾ cup icing sugar, sifted
¾ cup pouring cream
Sponge
12 eggs, at room temperature
160g brown sugar
160g caster sugar
300g plain flour, triple sifted
¼ tsp baking powder, sifted
30g Dutch cocoa
120g butter, melted
1 punnet strawberries, halved
1 To make ganache, place chocolate and prepared coffee in a large, heatproof bowl. In another saucepan, heat cream over high heat until just boiling. Pour in chocolate mixture and stir until combined and smooth. Set aside to cool at room temperature for 2 hours.
2 For vanilla mascarpone, place mascarpone, vanilla seeds, icing sugar, and cream in a large bowl and whisk until mixture holds soft peaks. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3 Line the base of 2 20cm sponge-cake tins with baking paper, then butter and flour them. To make sponge, preheat oven to 180°C. Place eggs and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer; beat for 10-12 minutes or until mixture thickens and triples in volume. Transfer to a large bowl, add flour and baking powder in 2 batches, and gently fold to combine.
4 In a bowl, whisk together cocoa and melted butter until smooth. Add to egg mixture and fold gently to combine. Divide between prepared tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool slightly in tins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5 To serve, cut each sponge in half, place one layer on a serving plate and spread with one-third of mascarpone mixture and one-quarter of ganache.
6 Repeat with remaining cake layers and filling. You’ll have extra ganache. Reheat remaining ganache until it melts, pour over top of sponge, and top with fresh strawberry halves.