For the longest time, Valrhona chocolate was out of our reach, price-wise.
It’s still nearly double the Callebaut equivalent, but that didn’t stop Pete from buying me an early Christmas present when we spotted this bulk pack at Chefs’ Warehouse.
The bag contains three kilos of Valrhona Manjari, a dark (64%) origin chocolate from Madagascar. It has a most unusual colour – the fèves have a slight reddish tinge to them. They’re lighter in colour than most dark chocolate, which made me double check the packaging to see if there was any added milk (there wasn’t).
The flavour is quite distinct, with high acidity and a long aftertaste. It’s not my preferred eating chocolate, but I was pretty sure it would have some exciting culinary uses…
Earlier this year, my dear friend Joanna put me onto this wonderful chocolate cake recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
It’s become a regularly baked treat at our house, partly because of its simplicity, but mostly because it showcases the chocolate, without the overlay of competing flavours. Needless to say, it’s worth making this cake with the very best chocolate you can get your hands on.
Made with Valrhona Manjari, the cake has a hint of orange that is most appealing. Here’s the amended recipe (our original post is here):
Valrhona Manjari Chocolate Cake
- 250g (8.8oz) Valrhona Manjari fèves , 64% cacao
- 250g (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 4 medium free-range eggs, separated
- 200g/7oz caster sugar
- 50g (1.75oz) plain (AP) flour
- 50g (1.75oz) ground almonds
1. Grease a 23cm/9″ springform cake tin and line the base with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 170C/340F or 160C/320F with fan.
2. In a large pyrex bowl, melt together the chocolate and butter in the microwave using short bursts, being careful not to scorch the chocolate. Stir until smooth and combined.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar to form a paste, then stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Carefully fold in the flour and almonds.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Stir a large spoonful into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then carefully fold the remaining egg white in, trying to keep as much of the air in the mixture as possible.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes, until just set. The cake will still be a little wibbly in the middle – resist the urge to bake it until solid. Allow to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes on a wire rack before opening the springform.
The finished cake is quite flat, velvety and slightly fudgy. Don’t take that to mean that it’s stodgy in any way – somehow it manages to be both light and fudgy at the same time. It cuts well at room temperature, and the flavour seems to improve with a day’s rest.
Finding a really good flourless (or nearly flourless) chocolate cake recipe is a little like Goldilocks’ search for the ideal bowl of porridge. The ingredients are always similar, but the proportions vary slightly from recipe to recipe. Sometimes the cakes will be overly eggy (which Pete is particularly sensitive to); other times the finished texture will be dense and heavy.
For us, this version is the perfect rendition of the style. It’s a great do-ahead dinner party dessert, particularly when served with a dollop of microwave custard. It’s the cake I’m baking for all our December entertaining, and the one I’ll be putting on the table for Christmas lunch.
As Hugh FW wrote in his introduction to the recipe:
“Everyone should have a little black cake in their
culinary wardrobe and this is mine.”
It’s now mine too, and it’s so easy that it might soon be yours as well!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
This is a very similar recipe to a chocolate cake I make as a dessert when my imagination fails, or I’m in a hurry. It’s absolutely delicious, and is influenced very much by the chocolate you use, as you say, Celia.
Suelle, it’s nice to have something up your sleeve when, as you say, imagination fails. Whenever we make this, friends think we’re clever, and we just nod, sagely.. ;-)
a lovely recipe, which I’ve bookmarked and a great quote about the LBD or in this case LBC :) Claire
Claire, how nice to put a name to your comments, thank you! :) I too love the idea of a LBC.. :)
I will be back for the recipe – just got notification of your post, and cake challenged that I am, I HAD to come here check out your production!
(I miss being home, and my cooking…. )
Sally, I hope you’re having fun in LA! Look forward to seeing you back in your kitchen soon.. :)
Ooh, great use of your early Christmas pressie Celia and I still have to try your microwave custard!
:-) Mandy
Thanks Mandy! I’ve been making inroads into the bag already – Pete might need to get me another one for Christmas! Friands today! :)
Something else for me to try when I get home.
Take your time, Deb, we’re thoroughly enjoying touring Europe with you first.. :)
Hee hee I haven’t made that one in ages! Thanks for the link and the reminder of how easy it was to make. I will make it again very soon along with your lovely biscuit choccy topped thing. I had quite forgotten it. Enjoy your chocolatey moments… might have to make one to go with my bottled pears which came out surprisingly well :)
The River Cottage Everyday Cookbook – bought it based on your recco and this cake, and it’s been an absolute gem. Thank you! I think this would be very nice with some sweet fruit, Jo, and as we were discussing just the other day, Valrhona is so much more affordable in the UK than it is here!
Having talked about it with you, I sidled along the shelves in the store towards the Valrhona that I had mentioned and …. it was out of stock…. seems other people have noticed it is a good buy as well ;)
LOL! Nevermind, as you know, it will work just as well with all kinds of good dark chocolate.. :)
Celia, I love this! I’m sure a little GF flour would work well in the place of the plain flour. I make something very similar. Great to know about the Valrhona.
Lizzy, I was thinking exactly the same thing, that a little GF flour would work well as a substitute. It might even work with all almond meal instead of the flour. Would love to compare recipes if you ever get around to posting yours! :)
That is gorgeous and I am interested in the flourfree (or nearly) concept. i will try this one. I have not seen almond flour here but i should be able to make it.. though i shall have to wait until I find the good chocolate.. oh dear this is getting difficult, maybe I should just drop in for a cake and a cup of tea! perfect.. c
Celi, over here it’s sold as almond meal, and we can buy it either blanched or unblanched. I would LOVE you to drop in for cake and a cup of tea!
Oh yes how wonderful. I love the Manjari, it has a wonderful fruity taste. You are one lucky girl indeed!
Tania, there are so many different varieties to try. Do you have a favourite that you can recommend I look out for? I reckon a girl could go broke trying them all.. ;-)
Your cake sounds absolutely delicious Celia. I must admit, I am struggling with the ‘lightness’. I use 250gm butter, 250gm chocolate and 4 eggs in my mud cake which is heavy and dense. Perhaps I need to make your cake to see for myself. Hubby goes to Madagascar a few times a year – I think I’ll place an order for some chocolate next time.
Mariana, I think it’s the flour and sugar. Your mudcake has 300g (2 cups) flour, milk and more than double the sugar of Hugh’s cake. This one is more like a mousse cake or, as they used to call them in the 80s, a “fallen souffle cake” (remember those? :)).
What a lovely simple recipe to showcase the chocolate, thank you Celia and Hugh, I’ll be making that one soon.
I saw the Valrhona pack when I made my initial foray to CW (thanks to you) about six weeks ago, had my list not been so long I would have been tempted. Enjoy yours.
Rose, you showed great restraint! :) I’m glad you enjoyed shopping at Chefs’ – we always have so much fun there! I’ve made this cake with a different origin chocolate, and it tasted quite different, so it really does show up the chocolate flavours!
Now that is a Christmas present I wouldn’t be disappointed to receive. You described searching for the perfect chocolate cake recipe so well!
Claire, thank you! Tell Will to put it on your Chrissie list. Or you could add it to your Bridal Registry – could you imagine? “3kg Valrhona Manjari 64% dark chocolate”.. :)
I love the reference to a ‘little black cake’…so true!
So…what is the verdict? How does it compare to the Callebaut? Should I be rushing out to buy some…like I do with just about everything else you recommend?!! :)
Oh dear, I knew you were going to ask me that. For this cake, and other baking, the Valrhona is great and very flavoursome, so it’s good when you want to make a special recipe where the chocolate really stands out. As a chocolate for tempering and eating, I’m undecided. I still prefer the Tanzanie blend Christina and I came up with earlier this year, and Pete prefers the Callebaut Sao Thome origin chocolate. Does that help? :) xx
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/04/17/chocolates-for-easter/
Hail to the fudgey goodness :D
Thanks Nic! I thought that too as I was eating it…”I’m sure it’s good for me..” :)
I love that quote too. I knew I was missing something, a little black cake!
Needless to say Mr Chocolate would be all over this :-)
Oh Brydie. Mr Chocolate would loooove this cake. Tell him to stop in at Chefs’ and buy some Valrhona for you to play with, tell him you have a craving.. ;-)
After all the pumpkin- and the lovely meringue and berry tart of Thanksgiving- I’m making this cake. But not with exactly the same choc.
-looking forward to trying it out!
Heidi, this cake works well with all dark chocolate I think – preferably around 70% cacao. Whatever chocolate you choose to use is how the cake will end up tasting – it’s quite remarkable! :)
And to think I have never had a LBC in my kitchen, oh the shame of it! ;)
Hehehe…I’m glad the quote appealed to my friends as much as it did to me! :)
i’m sensitive to an overly eggy taste in my cakes as well, so if it appeals to Pete, hopefully it appeals to me too :)
btw Celia, I found myself headed to Marrickville two weeks back and I went to ALL the places you highlighted, even to Harkola which wasn’t that near – I’m glad I did go to those places cos I netted myself a bunch of lovely food items :D
Janine, glad you had fun in Marrickville, we always have a ball there! Can’t believe you drove to Harkola on the same day though – that’s a looong detour! :)
I’ve been craving chocolate and this seems to fit the bill. Delish!
Maz.
I’m sure you’d love this, Maz! Have a great day tomorrow! xxx
What a lovely gift! Have a super day :)
Tandy, it was wasn’t it? Hope you have a great day too, sounds like you and Cin have been having lots of fun! :)
OK I’ll be right over…. ;)
I’ve saved you a piece.. ;-)
I would serve this cake to guests with vanilla bean ice cream and a few drops of aged balsamic vinegar to add a slight cherry aftertaste which is a nice combo with dark chocolate.
Now about the cake, I wonder if you could not use chestnut flour instead of regular flour if you want to make it 100% flourless (chestnut is gluten-free…but pricey). If not, this cake already sounds amazing the way you describe it and given that it has very little flour. Definitely a keeper.
I think I’m going to list Valrhona’s chocolate baking feves on my store and share this recipe with a link back here if you don’t mind.
Thanks for stopping by – I never thought to add aged balsamic to ice cream before! I think chestnut flour would work – I’ve used them before in my gluten-free brownie recipe:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/02/16/gluten-free-chestnut-brownies/
Thanks for linking back to the recipe!
What I could do with 3 kgs of chocolate. If I could stop myself eating it first. Looks delicious!
Meg, it’s a big bag, but I’m not sure it will make it to Christmas! :)
In Brussels, there is now a Valrhona shop filled only with their chocolats! How cool is that?
This brand of chocolate is still very pricy over here too but sometimes you must indulge yourself with good things, hey! ;)
Your fudgly chocolately cake looks so tempting, appetizing & lovely too, Celia!
Sophie, an entire Valrhona shop! That’s amazing! Normally I use your Belgian Callebaut, but the Valrhona has made a really nice change! :)
Wow – what a fantastic present. I’m not sure I could make it last until Christmas though. I bought 1/2 bag of Valrhona 70% yesterday and I’ve bought it home and hidden it away from the kids. I know it is going to make me very happy and I want it to last as long as possible.
What a good hubby with the early Christmas present- but I guess he knew he’d get his share too! I just love that quote, and I’d love a slice of the cake too please :-)