Daring Baker's Chocolate Valentino

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

This was quite a fun challenge for me because the cake was super easy to make & it gave me another excuse to use the new ice cream maker attachment I got for the Kitchen Aid. Typically a Valentino is made in a heart-shaped pan. I don't have one so I decided to make two small cakes in my 4 1/2-inch springform pans. Half of the original recipe filled these pans perfectly. I used half bittersweet & half semisweet chocolate because we prefer a darker chocolate. I'll make this cake again, the flavor & texture are amazing!

For the ice cream (we could make any kind we wanted), I decided to make Raspberry Buttermilk Ice Cream because I love the flavor of raspberries with chocolate. The buttermilk makes this lower in fat than normal ice cream. It's wonderfully creamy thanks to the addition of the banana. You can substitute the raspberries for any other fruit you like. The cake was so rich that it really needed the ice cream with it.

Chocolate Valentino
from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan (adapted to make 1/2 the size)
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I used half bittersweet, half semisweet)
5 T of unsalted butter
3 large eggs separated, with 1 T removed from the both the whites & the yolks.

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. (In the smaller pans mine only took 20 minutes)
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Raspberry Buttermilk Ice Cream
(from The Ice Cream Bible)

1 c fresh or frozen raspberries without syrup
1 c buttermilk
2/3 c simple syrup*
1 ripe banana

Place everything in a blender or food processor & blend until smooth. Strain through a sieve into a airtight container to remove any raspberry seeds. Refrigerate until cold.

Freeze according to the directions on your ice cream maker, ours took about 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

*Make simple syrup by simmering 2 cups water with 1 cup white sugar for 5 minutes while stirring. Any leftover syrup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 months.