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In honour of the holidays, our friend, foodie blogger Nana Marmelade, has shared one of her most festive recipes with you...
Introducing her famed chocolate-rosemary cake made with fair trade chocolate and sugar!
This socially and environmentally responsible gluten-free dessert is sure to impress guests of all ages.
Ingredients
For the cake:
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup firmly packed fair trade cane sugar
6 large eggs, separated
12 oz fair trade dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 ½ teaspoon rosemary, chopped as finely as possible (or to taste)
1 ½ tablespoon fair trade espresso or 1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
For the sparkling cranberry balls:
½ cup fair trade powdered sugar
½ cup water
1 cup cranberries
Fair trade, organic powdered cane sugar to decorate the balls
Preparation
For the cake:
Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 9-inch round springform pan with parchment paper. Grease with butter and set aside.
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until frothy, or about 3 minutes. At low speed, add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the bottom and sides of bowl if necessary.
Add melted chocolate, espresso (or vanilla), rosemary, and salt. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Transfer everything into a clean bowl and, if reusing, wash your mixing bowl thoroughly.
In a clean mixing bowl free of fat, whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then add the remaining egg whites.
Pour the batter into the pan and let cook for 25 minutes. Leave to cool.
For sparkling balls:
Place cranberries in a container for the fridge and put them aside.
Make a simple syrup by bringing water and sugar to a simmer. Let the syrup cool for a few minutes, then pour it over the cranberries. If the syrup is too hot, the cranberries may burst, so be careful. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, drain the cranberries and mix them with the sugar until well coated. Place coated cranberries on a baking sheet and let them dry for several hours. Dip a few sprigs of rosemary into the cranberry syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Let dry.
Garnish cake with cranberry balls, rosemary stems and whipped cream.
Enjoy!
