Torched Chocolate Lemon Cakes
Ever since I bought a blowtorch, my life has turned 180 degrees, literally! I mean, seriously, all the things you can use it for – it’s so fun to use! However, my first thought when I had it in my hands it was this cake – I dreamt about a torched miniature cake for ages and I could finally make it.. imagine the joy! Probably influenced by the famous lemon meringue tart, I decided to include some lemon in my cakes and influenced by Pierre Herme, I thought chocolate should be the second flavor. I just felt that these two flavors would benefit the most from slightly caramelizing the meringue. It was a festive cake, rich and creamy with the lemony gooey center. Absolutely delicious!
These torched chocolate lemon cakes are quite simple at their core – a layer of graham crackers mixed with butter, a layer of chocolate mousse and a gooey inside of lemon curd, all covered in Swiss meringue which was torched just before serving to create the golden, caramelized look. Now that’s simplicity at its best!
I find these cakes to be so simple and pretty – the pure white meringue, the golden streaks and the bright red raspberries create a beautiful and appealing contrast of colors and flavors alike. Real gems of deliciousness!
Torched Chocolate Lemon Cakes
Ingredients
Crust:
- 200 g graham crackers (crushed)
- 80 g butter (melted)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon curd:
- 5 egg yolks
- 110 g butter (cubed)
- 210 g white sugar
- 90 ml lemon juice
- Zest from 2 lemons
- 1 pinch salt
Chocolate mousse:
- 150 ml heavy cream
- 200 g dark chocolate (chopped)
- 3 g gelatin + 15ml cold water
- 300 ml heavy cream (whipped)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- 1 pinch salt
Swiss meringue:
- 4 egg whites
- 200 g white sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust:
- Start by preparing 6-8 small cake rings. Place them on a board or baking tray lined with parchment paper and line them with acetate sheets.
- Mix the graham crackers, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of this mixture into each cake ring and press well with your fingertips. Place aside.
Lemon curd:
- Combine all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl. Place over a hot water bath.
- Cook the curd for about 20 minutes until it reaches 85C and it’s thick and creamy.
- Remove from heat and pass it through a fine sieve. Cover with plastic wrap on its surface and allow to cool down overnight in the fridge.
Chocolate mousse:
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water for 10 minute.
- Bring the cream to the boiling point over low heat – don’t boil it, it just has to be hot.
- Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate. Mix until melted and smooth then stir in the gelatin.
- Allow the chocolate to cool down slightly then add the vanilla, rum and a pinch of salt.
- Fold in the whipped cream then spoon the mousse into your prepared cake rings, filling them with only a thin layer of mousse. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes then spoon a thin layer of lemon curd on top. Cover with the remaining chocolate mousse, splitting it equally between the cake rings.
- Place in the freezer for 2-3 hours until well set.
Swiss meringue:
- Combine the ingredients in a heatproof bowl and place over a hot water bath. Keep on heat for a few minutes, mixing constantly with a whisk until the mixture is hot and the sugar has dissolved – a thermometer should read around 65C.
- Remove from heat and begin mixing with an electric mixer until the bowl feels cold to the touch. It will take up to 7-8 minutes.
- Remove the cakes from the freezer and carefully unmold them.
- Cover each cake with whipped meringue then torch it with a blowtorch. – it is best to do this just before serving.
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