Divine cakes for cocoa lovers

Gooey fudge cake from Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines. Photograph: PR

Divine Chocolate asked five leading chefs to create their ultimate chocolate cakes to celebrate Chocolate Week(October 13–19) and the Fairtrade brand's 10th anniversary. Here are the recipes for you to try at home - just try not to eat more than one a day.

Chocolate fudge cake by Michael Caines

Ingredients
225g plain dark chocolate
225g unsalted butter
345g caster sugar
6 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
120g ground almonds
145g soft white breadcrumbs
30g plain flour
2tbsp vanilla essence
Icing
85g cocoa powder
255g icing sugar
130g butter
170g caster sugar
6tbsp water
Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas 3.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, or in a bowl placed over a pan of boiling water. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until white and soft. Add the egg yolks gradually, one by one, then add the almonds and beat them in. Gently fold in the chocolate with a spoon, then add the bread crumbs, flour and vanilla essence and mix together.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites, along with a pinch of sugar, until stiff - but do not over-beat. Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture and then pour the mixture into a buttered 26cm cake tin (lined with paper). Place in the oven and cook for one hour.
During this time make the icing. Place the cocoa powder and the icing sugar in a mixing bowl. Warm together the butter, sugar and water until dissolved. Add the liquid into the dry mixture and mix together for a thick but 'pourable' consistency. Once the cake has cooked and cooled, pour over the cake.
Top tip
Always use dark chocolate, as opposed to milk, when cooking and baking because it provides the desired taste and texture for a recipe.

Chocolate cake with raspberry ganache by Alan Coxon

Ingredients
200g dark 70% chocolate
200g unsalted butter cut in pieces
125ml strong espresso style coffee
85g self-raising flour
85g plain flour
0.25tsp baking powder
200g dark moist muscovado sugar
200g golden caster sugar
25g coco powder
3 medium free range eggs
1tsp natural yoghurt
4tbsp grated divine dark chocolate to decorate
plus butter for greasing
Raspberry ganache:
200g 70% dark chocolate
285ml double cream,
2tbsp golden caster sugar
150g fresh raspberries
Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas 3.
Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base.
Break the chocolate into pieces and place into a heatproof bowl and sit on top of a pan half filled with hot water, ensuring that the water does not touch the base of the bowl. Add the butter, the warm coffee and heat everything together gently in the double boiler just until everything is melted taking care not to overheat. (Alternatively place everything in a bowl and melt in the microwave on medium for about four minutes, stirring after two minutes.)
While the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, baking powder, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl, mixing together thoroughly or passing through a large sieve to evenly distribute the ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and stir in the natural yoghurt.
Pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency. Do not over-beat or over-handle. Pour this into the tin and tap the tin gently for an even surface and the removal of any air bubbles trapped in the mix.
Bake for one-and-a-half hours then check the cake by inserting a skewer in the centre. It should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a little). Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three.
To make the ganache:
Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place into a bowl. Place the cream into a pan, add the sugar, heat until it is about to boil, then remove from the heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the raspberries, breaking them up a little before leaving it to cool slightly.
Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake, letting it fall down the sides and smoothing to cover with a palette knife. Decorate with grated chocolate. (The cake keeps moist and gooey for three to four days).
Top tip
Whenever melting chocolate, always take care not to overheat as this can damage your recipe. Remember, chocolate melts in your mouth, so any hotter than body temperature is pointless.

Chestnut & chocolate cake by Arthur Potts-Dawson

Ingredients
220ml milk
140g butter
3 medium eggs
150g chopped peeled chestnuts
70g chocolate 70%
220g plain flour
265g soft brown sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 level tsp baking powder
1 vanilla pod, chopped finely
½ level tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 190°C/gas 5.
Sift together all the dry ingredients. Place the chocolate and milk into a bowl over warm water and allow to melt. Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat the eggs and slowly pour in to the creamed butter and sugar, add 20g of the flour. Stir in the golden syrup and chopped chestnuts and vanilla, mixing well. Fold in the remaining flour. Gradually add the chocolate mixture to form a thick batter. Pour into a buttered, floured 10-inch cake tin. Bake for one hour.
Turn out on to a cake rack. Grate some more plain chocolate over the top of the warm cake - this will melt and create a lovely topping. Allow to cool, then serve with creme fraiche and a light dusting of cocoa powder.

Chocolate amaretti cake by Linda Collister

Ingredients
100g dark chocolate
100g amaretti biscuits (crunchy not soft)
100g plain flour
225g unsalted soft butter
175g caster sugar
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur or lukewarm water
cocoa powder for dusting
23cm springclip tin, greased and lined
Heat oven 180°C/gas 4.
Break up the chocolate and put into the bowl of a food processor. Run the machine to make a fine powder. Add the amaretti biscuits and run the machine again until the mixture is fine. Add the flour then run the machine or pulse briefly just to combine the ingredients. Set aside until needed.
Put the soft butter and sugar into the bowl of a food mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until light and creamy. Beat in the yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the chocolate mixture and the amaretto or warm water.
In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Using a large metal spoon, fold the whites into the chocolate mixture in three batches. When thoroughly combined spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake in the heated oven for about 40 minutes or until firm to the touch.
Remove the tin from the oven and run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the tin to loosen the cake. Carefully unclip the tin and leave the cake to cool on a wire rack. Dust with cocoa powder just before serving with whipped cream.
Store in an airtight container and eat within four days.

Chilli-chocolate orange cake by Sam Stern

Putting this cake together has been a labour of love. It's been through a load of variations and I think this one is pretty much perfect. Customise the cake to suit you – add more chilli if you like more heat. Go for the fudge icing for a sweeter tooth or the bitter chocolate for a sophisticated taste and finish.
Ingredients
150g plain chocolate
½ tsp coffee granules
1tsp chilli flakes (or more if you like), crushed with pestle & mortar or bashed with a rolling pin
125g butter
125g caster sugar
5 eggs, separated
75g self raising flour
1 pinch bicarbonate of soda
1½tsp baking powder
2tbsp cocoa powder
1tbsp rum or orange juice or water
1tsp vanilla essence
1tbs water
Peel of half a medium orange, finely grated
Glaze:
2 tablespoons of good orange marmalade
Fudge icing:
300g icing sugar
25g divine cocoa powder
125g butter
4tbsp of water
Bitter chocolate icing:
180g dark chocolate
125g unsalted butter
1tbsp golden syrup
Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas 3.

Line and grease a 20-22cm tin (springform or loose-based).
Melt the chocolate by placing the pieces in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, not allowing the bowl to touch the water. Add the coffee granules and chilli. Let the mix melt then stir with a wooden spoon. Remove bowl and leave to cool.
Cream the softened butter with the caster sugar in a food mixer or the proper way, with a wooden spoon, until light and white. Gently stir in the cooled chocolate and four egg yolks. Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder into the bowl and then add the grated orange rind. Fold the mix gently together with a metal spoon using big scooping movements. Add the rum, vanilla and water.
Whisk 5 egg whites until stiff (don't overwhisk). Add to the mixture by beating in the first tablespoon to loosen the consistency. Then fold the rest in very gently using a metal spoon. Don't worry if it's not perfect, as it can be hard to combine the two.
Pour the mix into the tin and put it in the oven for 45-50 minutes (check after 35 – ovens vary!). To test it, prick with a cocktail stick. It should come out clean. Don't worry if the top of the cake has cracked a bit – you'll be icing it up. Remove and place on a cooling rack. Take out of the tin after five minutes and leave to cool. Brush the glaze on while still a bit warm.
To make the glaze, put the marmalade into a saucepan and melt over a low heat until it's runny. Brush this onto the cooling cake base with a pastry brush.
To make the fudge icing: combine the sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl. Melt the butter and water and pour into the icing sugar mix. Beat until combined. It should be easily spreadable but not runny, so you might not need all the liquid. Cover the top of the cake and sides generously with the icing, tip it then finish using a spatula. Go for a smooth or a rough finish. You can decorate with cherries, grated chocolate, crumbled flake or chocolate curls (peel from a bar of chocolate with a potato peeler).
For the bitter chocolate icing: melt chocolate pieces in a bain marie (as above) with butter and golden syrup. Pour it over the cake for a smooth finish. Let it set. Pipe messages on top or decorate with cherries. Eat and enjoy!

Nigel Slater: Five exotic ingredients to brighten up the new year

Fried ginger chicken, yuzu dip. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for Observer Food Monthly

Ingredients come and go, but in the past couple of years, a handful of new ones have taken up a permanent place in my kitchen. This last year, five ingredients, spice mixes and flavourings made the leap from "fun things to play with" to a much-loved part of my everyday cooking. They include a soft fragrant spice mix; a startling fruit; a blend of herbs and seeds; and a seasoning that is hot and sweet. There is also a fresh ingredient whose flavour is difficult to pin down.
Some of these are available from high-street supermarkets, others from ethnic food shops and almost all are available online. They are all well established within their own cuisines, but haven't, till now, been easy to find in UK shops. Many of them may be already in regular use in your kitchen. But all are recent additions to my cooking that I believe deserve a much wider audience.

Fried ginger chicken, yuzu dip

The yuzu is small Japanese citrus fruit with a flavour that is often described as poised between lemon and grapefruit. Whatever, it is a delightful, sweet-sharp fruit whose juice is sold here in bottles. Occasionally you may find fresh fruit in Japanese food centres. It is my tip for the most likely ingredient to become ubiquitous over the next few years. And that will suit me just fine.
Buy it for sharpening up a marinade; adding a deep citrus flavour to soy sauce-based dips for tempura or sushi.

Get it from Japanese food shops. (It is rather expensive, but a little goes a long way.)
Serves 2
for the marinade:
light soy sauce 75ml
mirin 125ml
fresh ginger grated, 3 tbsp
chicken drumsticks 6
ginger a thumb-sized knob
rice flour 6 tbsp
for the dipping sauce:
dark soy sauce 2tbsp
yuzu juice 2 tbsp
oil for deep frying
Pour the light soy sauce into a sealable plastic bag, add the mirin and the freshly grated ginger.
Remove the skin from the drumsticks and slice the flesh from top to bottom to reveal the bone. Carefully cut the meat away from the bone in one piece and drop into the bag of marinade. Seal the bag and leave the chicken to soak in the seasoned soy and mirin for an hour or more. Overnight won't hurt.
Peel the thumb of ginger and cut into matchstick-size strips. Season the rice flour with salt and a little black pepper and spread it thickly on a plate or shallow bowl. Warm the oil to 180C.
Remove the chicken from its marinade and drop each piece into the seasoned rice flour, then lower carefully into the hot oil. Fry for 4 or 5 minutes until the outside is pale amber and lightly crisp. It is best not to overcrowd the pan, so cook them in two batches, and drain each on kitchen paper.
Fry the shredded ginger till golden and remove with a draining spoon. In a small bowl, mix the dark soy sauce and the yuzu juice together. Give the chicken a last quick fry to crisp it then serve with coriander leaves and the dipping sauce.

Butternut squash and coconut stew with galangal

Butternut squash and coconut stew with galangal. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for Observer Food Monthly Galangal looks a little like ginger, but tastes very different, having none of the root's citrus notes. Paler, smoother and often with pink tinges to its plump ivory rhizomes, galangal is used in Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian cooking.
Buy it for adding to a Vietnamese curry; including in a marinade for beef or pork; or for clear fish soups with crab or prawns.
Get it from Chinese and south-east Asian food shops and some of the larger mainstream supermarkets.
Serves 4-6
butternut squash 600g
groundnut oil a little
coconut milk 400ml
stock 500ml
galangal peeled and grated 3tbsp
lime juice of ½
spring onions 3
assorted Asian greens 3 large handfuls
Thai basil a small handful
coriander a small handful
Peel the squash, discard any seeds and fibres and cut the flesh into small dice roughly 2cm square. Warm a little oil in a frying pan, add the cubes of squash and cook until lightly browned on all sides.
Pour in the coconut milk and stock and bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Add the grated galangal and the spring onions, season with salt and black pepper and continue cooking until the squash is tender and on the point of collapse.
Wash and roughly shred or tear the greens then push them down into the hot stew and leave them for 5 or 6 minutes over a low to moderate heat until they have wilted. Finish the stew by adding lime juice and salt to taste. You want a good balance of sour lime and sweet coconut with a little galangal in the background. Add the Thai basil and coriander just before serving.

Sirloin with miso and togarashi

Sirloin with miso and togarashi. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for Observer Food Monthly There is more than one form of togarashi seasoning. The most popular is a blend of chilli powder, orange peel, Szechuan pepper, sesame and ginger. Other blends come with dried lemon in them.
Buy it for adding a light, aromatic heat to steaks, aubergines and chicken.
Get it from Japanese grocers and the larger supermarkets.
Serves 2
sirloin steaks 2
radish sprouts to serve
for the dressing:
mirin 120ml
yellow miso paste 2 level tbsp
sugar 1 tbsp
togarashi seasoning a half to 1 tsp
Warm a little oil and a thick slice of butter in a shallow, heavy-based pan. Season the steaks and add them to the pan once the butter starts sizzling. As they brown on the surface, almost continually spoon the butter and oil over them, turning once the underside is done to your liking.
Pour the mirin into a saucepan and warm it gently. Stir in the miso paste and the sugar. When they have dissolved, remove from the heat and stir in the togarashi seasoning.
When the steak is ready, pour the dressing into the pan, roll the steak over in it, then set aside to rest for five minutes before slicing and serving with the radish sprouts.

Za'atar bread

Za'atar bread. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for Observer Food Monthly Za'atar, the Middle Eastern spice mixture made, at its most basic, from dried thyme, oregano, salt and sesame seeds, is often eaten with flatbreads and labneh, the strained yoghurt. Mixed with olive oil, when it is known as za'atar-wu-zayt, the mixture is then spread on the outside of flatbreads before baking. Here, I incorporate it into the breads themselves, making them particularly fragrant. I have also used this spice mix with grilled lamb, scattering it over the surface of the oiled meat during grilling.
Buy it for introducing a warm, deeply herbal note to baking and to grilled foods.
Buy it from Lebanese and Middle Eastern grocers. Some large supermarkets.
Makes 8
for the bread:
strong, white bread flour 250g
salt 5g
za'atar 3 tbsp
instant yeast 7g
unsalted butter 15g
water about 150ml
To serve:
labneh or strained yoghurt
mixed olives
extra virgin olive oil
Put the flour in a large, warm mixing bowl and add the salt, za'atar and the yeast. Add the butter and most of the water, then mix with your hands to bring the mixture together. Gradually add the remaining water until all the flour is mixed in.
Put the dough on a lightly floured board and knead for 5-10 minutes. When the dough feels smooth and silky, place it back in the mixing bowl, cover it with a warm tea towel and leave it in a warm place to rise for at least an hour until it has doubled in size.
Tip the dough on to a floured surface, fold repeatedly until all the air is knocked out of it, then tear it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball then flatten them into discs about the size of a digestive biscuit and set aside.
Warm a dry non-stick frying pan over a moderate heat, place the bread discs in the pan, a few at a time, and cook for 10 minutes or so till they are nicely toasted and a little puffed.
Serve the warm breads with the labneh and olives, trickling a little olive oil over the labneh at the table.

Cauliflower soup with ras el hanout

Cauliflower soup with ras el hanout. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for Observer Food Monthly Ras el hanout is a mild, gently flavoured blend of spices from north Africa that can include cinnamon, cumin, cloves, nutmeg, galangal and rose petals.
Buy it for stirring into rice, spicing couscous and mograbia and adding to tagines and casseroles.
Buy it from major supermarkets, Middle Eastern and north African grocers or online.
Serves 4-6
cauliflower 900g
milk 1 litre
butter 50g
ras el hanout 2 tsp
flaked almonds 100g
Remove the green leaves of the cauliflower, discarding anything with tough stalks, but keeping the smaller, tender leaves. Break the cauliflower into large florets then put them, with the reserved tender leaves, into a deep pan with the milk and a good pinch of salt.
Bring the milk to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and let the cauliflower cook for 15-20 minutes until it is tender. Remove the leaves and six fat florets and set aside, then continue cooking till the remaining cauliflower is quite soft.
Process the soft cauliflower and its milk in a blender or food processor with the butter till very smooth then return to the pan, scraping it out of the blender jug with a rubber spatula. Add the ras el hanout and a little salt and pepper to taste.
In a shallow non-stick pan, toast the flaked almonds till golden. Warm the reserved cauliflower florets in the soup for a couple of minutes then ladle into bowls, a large floret and a ladle of soup in each, and add a light dusting of ras el hanout and a scattering of hot flaked almonds over the surface.

How to make the perfect Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole

Adding sugar is a must, but should you boil your sweet potatoes or bake them? And are eggs essential? Then there is the dilemma over toppings. Marshmallows, anyone?

Perfect sweet potato casserole. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

When I asked an American friend what people do to celebrate Thanksgiving, he said that, mostly, they ate. And when they weren’t eating, they were watching football. No church, no gifts, just good food and thankfulness.
And what food! Deep-fried turkeys and pumpkin pies, cornbread stuffing and cranberry relish – and (most exotic of all to these British eyes) candied sweet potatoes, a dessert that has somehow fought its way on to the main course of the biggest meal of the year. Though the sweet potato has been an important part of the continent’s diet for millennia, and early European settlers readily adopted it as a pie filling, the Thanksgiving casserole’s infamous marshmallow topping didn’t appear until the early 20th century, apparently at the behest of interested candy manufacturers.
Sugar and gravy might not be a combination that every American is thankful for, however – Jane Nickerson, writing in the New York Times in 1948, prefaces her recipe with the underwhelming declaration: “I am not a fan, but about 250,000,000 Americans are, so here is my faint nod to their mystifying tastes.” I’m going to out myself – this week I discovered that, though I’m not American, I am a bit of a fan of candied sweet potatoes. Which just goes to show that you should try something before you knock it.

Cooks Illustrated’s candied sweet potato. Photograph: Felicity Cloake/Guardian

The potatoes

Like most tubers, the dense sweet potato requires some serious cooking. Early recipes often boil them in their skins, something also advocated by the classic Joy of Cooking, but the Cook’s Illustrated All-Time Best Recipes warn that this yields a wet texture and a “mild, watery flavour”. They’re right; the Joy may be a bible of American cooking, but its sweet potatoes remind me of boring old boiled carrots.
Instead, Cook’s Illustrated braises the potatoes in a mixture of cream, butter and sugar while Chow goes for a sugar syrup and butter mixture instead – both using just enough liquid to cook the vegetables through, but not enough to wash out their flavour. The Cooks Illustrated version, which eschews water altogether, is better, but it’s still not as good as the baked varieties I try.
Saveur and Southern Living magazines both bake their sweet potatoes in their skins before peeling and mashing them. If you can afford the power, this method yields an intensely sweet, full-flavoured result; sweet potatoes that taste almost ridiculously of themselves. Chow and Joy of Cooking both serve their sweet potatoes in slices, rather than mashing or puréeing them, as other recipes suggest. I think this is a mistake; one of my favourite things about this tuber is its velvety texture when puréed. This also means that the Chow version hasn’t absorbed much of the buttery, sugary flavour of its braising liquid, remaining sweet potato chunks in sauce. Far less satisfactory.

Saveur’s sweet potato casserole. Photograph: Felicity Cloake/Guardian

The fats

Butter is obviously a must here – you can’t have mashed potato of any stamp without it. Southern Living adds milk too, but as it’s a special occasion, I prefer the thicker double cream in the Saveur and Cook’s Illustrated recipes. Saveur and Southern Living also beat in eggs. I’m sceptical; as with the milk, I feel the less water in this casserole the better, but the eggs do give the filling a rich, almost custardy texture. To be safe, I decide to use just the yolks – you could even use the whites for a meringue topping if you’re feeling adventurous, but I’d save them for a puritan post-Thanksgiving breakfast.

The flavourings

Attempt to put a sugar-free sweet potato casserole on the table on Thanksgiving of all days, and you might just have your green card revoked; absolutely everyone adds some. But you don’t have to pour in a whole cup of the stuff, like Southern Living – it’s quite acceptable to stick with a more modest teaspoon, as Cook’s Illustrated suggests, just to accentuate the tuber’s natural sweetness. That said, I’m not going to stop you if you want to go mad on thankfulness for sugar once a year.

The Joy of Cooking’s sweet potato. Photograph: Felicity Cloake/Guardian

Chow and Saveur use dark brown sugar, Joy goes for the simple brown stuff, and no one else specifies, so I use white. As with the pumpkin pie, the more caramelised flavours of the less refined sugars are lovely in combination with the vegetable star, making it taste far more festive, and interesting, than ordinary caster.
Holiday or not, I draw the line at too many spices; the nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon in the Saveur pie completely overwhelm the poor old potato. The warmth of its grated ginger is inspired, however – much fresher than Joy’s powdered variety or Chow’s crystallised version. That, and a sprinkling of nutmeg, is quite enough for me, though I’d also accept the merest pinch of cinnamon, given the American fondness for the stuff. Joy is the only recipe to balance the sugar with lemon juice – it works because of the ridiculous amount of sugar it uses, but my more restrained recipe renders such an addition unnecessary.

Southern Living’s sweet potato casserole. Photograph: Felicity Cloake/Guardian

Toppings

I have to admit, marshmallows aren’t really my thing outside a Wagon Wheel, but I do like the crunch of the various other toppings the recipes use. Joy goes for a simple brown sugar glaze while Saveur makes an oat and brown sugar crumble with chopped pecan nuts, which, though delicious, I find a bit heavy for a side dish. Southern Living’s crushed cornflakes go down surprisingly well, but in the end, I settle for a classic pecan praline, on the basis that, as I’ve reined back the sugar in the dish itself, I can afford a little on top.
It is Thanksgiving, after all. Whether you crown it with a whole heap of pink and white marshmallows is up to you.
(serves 4-6)
900g sweet potatoes
45g butter
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp double cream
1 tsp dark muscovado sugar
1 tsp grated ginger
Sprinkling of nutmeg
½ tsp salt
For the topping
15g dark muscovado sugar
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter, melted
40g pecans, roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7 and prick the sweet potatoes with a fork. Bake until soft – how long this takes will depend on the size of your sweet potatoes, but check after 45 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 180C/gas mark 4. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and put the flesh into a bowl and mash until smooth – or use a stick blender. Add the butter and beat in until melted, then beat in the remaining ingredients. Taste for seasoning.
Spoon into an oven dish. Mix together all the topping ingredients with a pinch of salt and sprinkle over the top of the potatoes. Bake for about 25 minutes until the topping is crunchy and brown.
Candied sweet potatoes – the king of the Thanksgiving table, or a sugary distraction from good honest mash? Are you a marshmallow fan, or does the very idea of serving them with gravy turn your stomach? And, for those celebrating Thanksgiving, what else will you be serving up?