Cognac Chocolate Cake: Let's enjoy the grown up taste of chocolate cake together.

When I think about chocolate cake that people will enjoy, there are many kinds of it. But for this time,  because I want chocolate that grown up will enjoy so I'm looking for more complex flavor.

Cognac Chocolate Cake 

Because I make this cake following my idea from New Year of the two of us: My gifts of Love!. So, I want simple but flavor full cake that will be able to enjoy after dinner ^^ (hehe, a romantic  candlelit  dinner will be good too). 
There is nothing better than simple soft butter cake with chocolate chips in it, but we will make it special with the Cognac and chocolate ganache. Because we sprinkle the cake with the Cognac while it's still hot, the alcohol part will evaporate and leave only delicious taste and intoxicated aroma of it. But you still can make it children friendly by skipping the Cognac and use less intense chocolate, in that case everyone will be able to enjoy it too.
 Thinking about a cup of hot coffee and a small piece of this cake, you will have a happy after dinner talk that can last all night. What a great way to start a new year!

Cognac Chocolate Cake

Make 18x18cm Cake

2 ...................................... Egg whites
80g .................................. Sugar
80g .................................. Butter
40g .................................. Icing sugar
2 ....................................... Egg yolks
15ml ................................ Cognac
50g .................................. Almond powder
50g .................................. Cake flour

½ tsp .............................. Baking powder
40g .................................. Chocolate chips
50ml ................................ Cognac (for sprinkle over the cake)
Ganache
90g ................................... Dark chocolate (I use 50% cocoa mass)
90g ................................... Whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Line the pan with baking paper.
Sift almond powder, cake flour and baking powder together, set aside.

Beat the butter with icing sugar until light and fluffy, add egg yolks and 15ml of Cognac  and beat to combine.

Whip the egg whites with 80g of sugar until firm peaks formed.
Divide the meringue into 3 part, fold 1/3 of meringue into butter mixture with half of the flour mixture. Fold another 1/3 of the meringue into the butter mixture with the rest of the flour with chocolate chip. 
Fold the rest of the meringue into the mixture until combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, level the top.
Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160°C and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cake spring back when touch lightly.
Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle with 50 ml of Cognac.
Let the cake cool completely.

Make the ganache by boiling the whipping cream and pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Wait for 1 minutes and stir lightly to melt the chocolate.
Cover the cake with ganache, and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm up the ganache.
Decorate as desire and serve.

Cognac Chocolate Cake 

Cognac Chocolate Cake: 

Let's enjoy the grown up taste of chocolate cake together.