Donauwelle – Danube Wave Cake

Instructions

Prepare sponge cake.

1. Preheat the oven to 345ºF/175ºC with heat up and down.
2. Grease and flour a 15 cm diameter mold.
3. Sift the flour together with baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.
4. Beat the eggs together with the milk, set aside.
5. Melt 50 g of Valrhona 74 % Millot chocolate in a bain-marie. Set aside.
6. In the bowl of the KitchenAid, add the butter and beat on medium speed until the mixture is airy, creamy and whitish.
7. Add the sugar, little by little, as you continue mixing. This is done until all the sugar is incorporated.
8. Add dry ingredients alternating with liquid ingredients, in 3 batches, starting with the dry ingredients and finishing with the liquid ingredients.
9. We must not over beat the mixture, this is very important to obtain a fluffy result, we only mix until the ingredients are integrated.
10. Divide the dough into two equal parts.
11. One of them we incorporate it into the mould. With the help of a silicone spatula, spread it out (the mixture is rather dense). Gently tap the mould on a work surface with a cloth to settle the mixture.
12. Pour the chocolate into the other half that we had set aside. Mix the chocolate into the sponge mixture using gentle, enveloping movements.
    
13. Add the chocolate mixture on top of the mixture in the mould. Smooth the surface with the help of a silicone spatula and tap gently to set.
14. Place several cherries on top of the cake mixture and gently press them into the cake mixture. We should not press them all the way down, just enough so that they remain below the surface and we achieve a wave pattern after baking.
15. Place in the oven in the second position, starting from the bottom, for 40 minutes. If the surface of the sponge cake becomes too coloured during baking, we can cover it with a sheet of aluminium foil. Before taking it out of the oven, check that it is well cooked by pricking it with a toothpick, which should come out clean.
16. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 2-3 minutes in the mould. After this time, remove from the mould and leave to cool, upside down, on a wire rack. Placing the sponge cake in this way will help to leave a surface without a dome.
17. When it is still warm, wrap tightly with cling film and leave to cool completely. Once it is cold, it can be refrigerated until the next day or kept at room temperature.
    

Prepare pastry cream.

1. In this link you can see how to prepare pastry cream. When you read the recipe, just bear in mind the quantities and ingredients listed in this recipe.
2. To add the half of vanilla pod to the custard, simply cut it in half, open it lengthwise and remove the seeds by sliding a knife inside.
3. Once ready, set aside at room temperature covered with cling film until completely cooled.
   

Prepare mousseline.

1. Add the butter to the bowl of the KitchenAid and beat on medium-high speed.
2. Incorporate  icing sugar and continue beating. You should get a fluffy, white and very airy butter. It will take about 10-12 minutes.
3. Stop the KA and with the help of a silicone spatula, we lower the butter from the sides of the bowl.
4. Remove the film from the cream and smooth with a spoon or whisk.
5. Add the pastry cream to the butter mixture, little by little while mixing.
6. Beat on medium-high speed until a smooth, creamy consistency is obtained. It will take about 4-5 minutes.
7. Transfer the mousseline to a piping bag with a 2 cm smooth tip.
8. Set aside.

Prepare chocolate top decoration.

1. Melt 165 g Guanaja 70% Valrhona dark chocolate in a bain-marie and temper to 86º-87ºF/30º-31ºC.
2. Pour the chocolate into a silicone mould, in my case I used one with a diameter of 13 cm.
3. Place the mould on a tray, tap it gently to help the chocolate to set and any bubbles to disappear.
4. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to harden.
5. After this time, remove from the mould. Do this carefully to avoid breaking the piece.
   

Decorate the sides of the cake with a rocher glaze.

1. Melt 65 g of Valrhona 74 % Millot chocolate in a bain-marie in a medium bowl.
2. Temper the chocolate to a temperature of 86º-87ºF/30º-31ºC.
3. Add chopped almonds and mix to distribute them evenly in the chocolate.
4. Roll the edges of the sponge cake over the chocolate, making sure they are well covered.
5. Place on a wire rack and leave to harden. This can be done at room temperature or in the fridge.

Pipe mousseline and finish decoration.

1. Pipe mousseline over the surface of the cake. On this occasion I have done it this ways, but feel free to do it in another way or with another tip.
   
2. Place the chocolate disc on the mousseline and press gently to fit (do not do this with bare hands because the heat can damage the surface, ideally with gloves).
3. Finally, decorate with a Maraschino cherry.
4. Serve.

Notes for Donauwelle - danube Wave Cake

• There are many chocolate sponge cakes in which cocoa powder is added. In my case I have chosen to make it with melted chocolate. The result is a much juicier sponge cake with much more flavour.
• We can use candied cherries or preserved cherries, but pitted.
• If you don't like cherries, you can use another fruit instead. Preferably candied.
• Some preparations add a little Kirsch to the sponge cake, you can do so if you wish. The original recipe does not use this liqueur.
• The custard can be made the day before if you wish.
• I recommend  to use good quality butter, as this will influence the final taste of the mousseline.
• We will have a little muslin cream left over.
• Using good quality chocolate in the recipe is very important because the final result will have nothing to do with a cake made with low quality chocolates. Both in aromas and in taste and texture.
• In my case I used chocolates with between 70-74% cocoa. The reason is that German desserts are not usually sweet. They are elaborations that stand out for making the most of the natural flavours and aromas of the ingredients we use. That is why I decided to use chocolates that were in keeping with the final result of the product.
• It is very important to temper the chocolate well to achieve a good gloss and finish. It also helps the chocolate to unmould well and without any problems. Do not omit this step.
• A poorly tempered chocolate will result in a streaky, grainy, weak, unstable and easily melted finish. Spending a few minutes tempering will make your final product spectacular; shiny, uniform and without streaks or striations, smooth, more resistant to melting and stable. The tempering temperature of the dark chocolate should be around 30º-31ºC. To find this out, use a digital kitchen thermometer.
• I recommend roasting the almonds beforehand, as this will bring out the flavours of this nut much more than if we use them in their natural state.
• To cut the cake, if the chocolate disc is fitted to mousseline, I recommend you to heat a knife with a blowtorch and cut only the disc to the desired portion size. Wait a couple of minutes for the chocolate to cool down and then cut the cake portions. Another option is to separate the chocolate, cut the portions on one side and the disc on the other. However, in this case, the slices may not fit together properly.
• If the cake is refrigerated, it should be tempered for 1 hour before serving.
• Can be kept refrigerated for 3-4 days.
  

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• Almonds
• Black Chocolate
• Butter
• Candied cherries
• Vanilla