Even after an excellent meal, when you see a chocolate cake on the dessert menu at a restaurant, you can’t help but order it. It’s one of the little guilty pleasures that we like to indulge in from time to time and rightly so, because this little treat always brings balm to the heart. And it’s not Christophe Michalak who will say the opposite! The pastry chef is obviously a great gourmand who never tires of soft chocolate from his childhood. His affection for this pastry is such that he has one of his specialties! He dissected the original recipe in order to reinvent it from every angle. And for the love of deliciousness, the chef shares with us his best version, the one with praline. In a video recently published on his Instagram account, Christophe Michalak explains to us step by step how to make the perfect chocolate cake. Nothing complicated, everyone can do it.
Chocolate praline cake: the recipe to indulge yourself by Christophe Michalak
At snack time, we don’t neglect indulgence. Fondant of all kinds, muffin with a runny Nutella center and of course soft chocolate ! There are many options for treating yourself, but the guilty pleasure of Christophe Michalak, it’s its soft chocolate and praline. For dessert or snack, follow your desires, because there is no specific time to enjoy. If all this has made your mouth water, here is the pastry chef’s incredible recipe revealed.
Ingredients for 6 people:
- 130g butter
- 175 g of 70% dark chocolate
- 160 g of vergeoise (or brown sugar or muscovado sugar)
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
- 4 eggs
- 60 g of sifted flour
For the praline:
- 100 g of hazelnut paste
- 20 g brown sugar
- a pinch of fleur de sel
- some dried fruits (here he chose hazelnuts cut in half)
The steps of the recipe:
- Start by preheating your oven to 130°C.
- Take a saucepan and melt 130 g of butter in a saucepan. When it is melted, add 175 g of 70% dark chocolate off the heat. Mix until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
- Separately, mix 160 g of vergeoise, 1 pinch of fleur de sel and 4 eggs. Gradually incorporate 60 g of sifted flour.
- When you get nice textures, mix the two devices together. Pour everything into a silicone mold 24-26 cm in diameter.
- Bake for 35 minutes at 130°C. Chef’s tip: when a small crust forms on the surface, it’s ready.
- Let it cool for 3 hours and unmold it when it is very cold.
- Decorate with praline. To make it, mix 100 g of hazelnut paste and 20 g of brown sugar with a pinch of fleur de sel. Finish by placing some dried fruits on your cake.
How to preserve chocolate cake without it becoming dry?
If by some miracle you still have a few pieces of this succulent chocolate cake left, know that it is entirely possible to save it to enjoy again later. To keep it soft and not dry out, the secret is to store your cake at ambient temperature. This is possible when your preparation does not contain cream or fruit. To make it even more optimal, we also advise you to package your shares of clingfilm or in an airtight food bag. In these conditions, you can keep it for 2 days.
Read also :
⋙ Easy homemade flan from Christophe Michalak: the recipe and his advice for a perfect texture
⋙ Pizza dough: Christophe Michalak’s advice to make it digestible and full of flavor
⋙ Homemade pissaladière: Christophe Michalak’s revisited recipe