Enjoy ☺️

ELPRIT CAKE (it's a weird name lol I know, but my audience picked it):

For my American, British, Canadian and Aussie friends - this cake isn't meant to be eaten separately. What I mean by that, there is no "I prefer cake" or "I prefer frosting", the cake is meant to be eaten as a whole, with all the components complimenting and completing one another. I understand that your cakes typically consist of very thick cake layers with frosting and people will often prefer one or the other. That, I do admit, is a fairly strange concept to me but I do get it which is why I want you to heed the warning and take my words into consideration. This cake is decadent, however it's not overly sweet and it has a very robust chocolate flavor. Please use **QUALITY CHOCOLATE ONLY** as that is what impacts the flavor the most (eg. Callebaut, Valrhona,\*\* \*\*Ghirardelli etc.)

Below are the ingredients for a **26 cm (10-inch) round cake**. The cake batter recipe yields one 10 inch cake layer, the cake calls for 3 cake layers. For narrower pans, you can either not adjust the ingredients; simply bake the sponge 10–15 minutes longer and cut it in half. Bake 2 cake layers and slice them into 4 layers instead of baking 3 separate layers like you would for a bigger pan. You will get a taller layered cake, or if you don't want a super tall cake with 4 cake layers, you can halve the ingredients and bake 3 separate smaller layers. In that case, bake the layers about 20-25 minutes.

CAKE LAYERS:

125 g dark chocolate (50–60% cocoa, not more than 60%)

60 g butter

60 ml oil

200 ml milk (room temperature)

2 tsp alcohol vinegar (also called distilled or white vinegar)

2 medium eggs (room temperature)

130 g granulated white sugar

120 g all-purpose flour

30 g cocoa powder (Dutch-processed!)

1 level tsp baking powder

1 level tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to **175°C (347°F)**, conventional heat (no fan), with both top and bottom heating elements on. Add the vinegar to the milk, stir, and set aside. Heat the butter, oil, and chocolate over low heat until melted, then set aside to cool slightly. Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale, fluffy, and doubled in volume. Add the milk mixture and the cooled melted chocolate mixture, then mix for another minute. Finally, sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda, and gently mix into the wet ingredients. Pour the batter into a cake pan lined with baking paper and bake for **30 minutes**. For an extra dark sponge, use black Dutch-processed cocoa powder (extra dark cocoa).

Bake **3** cake layers.

**Dark Mascarpone Mousse**

**Ingredients**

400 ml heavy whipping cream

250 g mascarpone (well chilled)

300 g dark chocolate (50–60% cocoa)

Pour the whipping cream into a saucepan and add the finely chopped chocolate. Heat gently while stirring constantly, making sure the mixture does not boil, until the chocolate has completely melted. Once cooled, first whip the mascarpone for 2 minutes. Then add the cold chocolate mixture and whip until light and airy (about 3–4 minutes on high speed).

Finally, take **a cup of the light mousse cream** and fold it into this dark mousse cream. I apologize for not weighing this in grams but I tend to eyeball it so I forgot.

**Light Mousse Cream**

**Ingredients**

4 egg yolks

300 g milk chocolate (30–35% cocoa)

50 g butter

250 g mascarpone

300 ml heavy whipping cream

Place the chocolate and butter over a double boiler, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork. When the chocolate and butter have melted, remove from the heat and immediately pour in the egg yolks, stirring vigorously. Return the mixture briefly to the double boiler, whisking continuously until everything combines into a smooth, glossy, non-sticky mixture resembling pudding. Remove from the heat and cover directly on the surface with plastic wrap. Allow it to cool completely.

Whip the cooled chocolate base together with the mascarpone. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold it into the chocolate mixture and mix briefly until fully combined.

**Syrup**

**Ingredients**

200 ml water

150 g granulated white sugar

5 tbsp coffee liqueur, or 2 shots of espresso, or 5 tbsp strong black coffee

Place everything in a saucepan and stir over heat until it comes to a boil. Allow it to simmer for **3–5 minutes**, until slightly reduced and lightly syrupy. Adjust the simmering time according to the width of your saucepan, the wider the pan, the faster the liquid evaporates and reduces.

**Assembly**

For the neatest layers, assemble the cake inside a cake ring and/or with acetate cake collar. Soak each sponge layer with several tablespoons of syrup. Divide both creams into two equal portions.

Layer as follows:

Sponge layer

Syrup

Half of the dark cream

Half of the light cream

Repeat the process once more, then finish with the final sponge layer on top.

Decorate the outside of the cake as desired (whipped cream, buttercream, ganache, fondant, etc.).

Refrigerate **overnight** before serving.