These Festive Chocolate Cakes are Real Showstoppers

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

Heat the port in a saucepan set over a gentle heat until just boiling. In the meantime, whisk together the eggs, milk and sunflower oil in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, orange zest and juice, vanilla and salt. Sift in the flour, cocoa and raising agents and add the spices before whisking until thoroughly combined. Continue to whisk while gradually adding the hot port. The batter will be very wet.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40–45 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in its pan on top of a wire rack for 10 minutes, before turning out and leaving to cool completely.

Put all of the glaze ingredients into a small pan set over a gentle heat and stir until the chocolate and butter have melted and the glaze is streak free. Leave to cool until thick enough to pour without it rolling off the sides of the cake.

Place a sheet of baking parchment underneath the wire rack to catch any drips. Pour the glaze over the cold cake. Decorate with winter fruits and leave the cake to set completely at room temperature before transferring to a serving plate or cake stand.

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of barely simmering water. Leave to cool.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar and add the beaten eggs, a little at a time to prevent curdling. Whisk the Guinness® into the melted chocolate (you might want to decant this into a large jug/pitcher for ease later on).

Sift together the dry ingredients and fold half into the butter and sugar mixture. Add half of the chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the remaining dry ingredients, followed by the wet, and whisk until everything is thoroughly mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool on a wire rack still in their pans, before turning out.

To make the frosting, whisk the butter and cream cheese together before sifting in half of the icing/confectioners’ sugar. Whisk to combine, before sifting in the remaining icing/confectioners’ sugar. Continue to whisk until combined, then add the vanilla and Champagne. Continue to whisk until light and fluffy.

Place one of the cake layers on a serving plate or cake stand. Layer the cakes on top of each other using two-thirds of the frosting, before spreading the remaining third on the top of the cake with a palette knife.

Preheat the oven to 100C/Gas 1/4.

First, make the meringue mushrooms. Whisk the egg white with the salt until stiff, before gradually adding the sugar, a little at a time, whisking between each addition. Spoon the mixture into the piping/pastry bag and pipe little rounds of about five centimetres wide onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Next, pipe little upright peaks for the mushroom stalks. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour, turn off the oven and leave to cool and dry out, preferably overnight. Once cool, paint the underside of each cap with melted chocolate, glue the stalks onto the caps with a little more melted chocolate. Leave to set.

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

Whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and caster/granulated sugar until pale, thick and creamy. Whisk the chocolate and chestnut flour into the sugar and yolks before vigorously beating in a couple of tablespoons of whisked egg whites to slacken the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining whites with a large metal spoon. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. While still warm, upturn the cake onto a fresh piece of baking parchment with a clean kitchen cloth laid underneath. Peel off the baking parchment and carefully roll the cake up, using the kitchen cloth to help.

To make the ganache, simply heat the cream to just boiling point in a saucepan set over a gentle heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and mix with a spatula until smooth, thick and glossy. Leave to cool.

To make the chestnut filling, simply whisk the chestnut purée, butter and vanilla together before sifting in half of the icing/confectioners’ sugar. Once combined, sift in the remaining icing/confectioners’ sugar and whisk until light and fluffy.

Unroll the cold cake and spread the chestnut filling evenly over the top. Roll the cake up again and place on a serving board. Spread with a generous coating of ganache using a palette knife and scratch and scrape the surface using a knife or fork to make it look like tree bark. Leave to cool at room temperature until completely set. Dust with icing/confectioners’ sugar and arrange the meringue mushrooms in clusters on and around the cake.

Preheat 170C/Gas 3.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of barely simmering water. Take the bowl off the heat and cool slightly.

Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, but not dry and set aside. In a separate bowl, but with the same beaters (there’s no need to wash them up in between), whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale, thick and mousse-like.

Pour the melted chocolate and butter down the side of the bowl gradually, while continuing to whisk. Once streak free, add the ground almonds, ground pink peppercorns and a large spoonful of the beaten egg whites and fold in. Be careful not to knock the air out of the mixture. Lastly, fold the remaining egg whites into the cake batter with a large metal spoon, using a slicing action to ensure you can keep as much air in the batter as possible.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan, gently level the top with a palette knife and bake in the preheated oven for 30–40 minutes. The cake will continue to cook on cooling, so don’t be worried if an inserted cake skewer comes out a bit sticky. You want this cake to have a moist and truffly centre. Leave the cake to cool entirely in its pan, before turning out on a wire rack with a sheet of baking parchment underneath.

To make the ganache, put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan until it just boils and pour it over the chocolate. Leave for one minute before stirring in with a rubber spatula until the chocolate has completely melted and you have a thick, glossy ganache. Leave to cool a little, before pouring over the cake, teasing to the edges and over the sides of the cake with a palette knife – the baking parchment will catch any drips to prevent a big mess on your worktop.

Scatter the pink peppercorns over the top and leave to set at room temperature.

Torte caprese
Transform this peppercorn torte into a classic torte caprese by replacing the ground and whole pink peppercorns with vanilla and leaving out the ganache