Pave du Roy Gateau - An old French classic, now revived (with the added benefit of being flourless and optionally dairy-free too)
I first started making this cake as part of the Cordon Bleu Pastry degree cycle. I then brought the recipe home and made it as a special treat for a good friend’s 80th birthday (a certain Monsieur Lamorlette). Little did I know it had been a cake quite popular in his childhood (which had somehow lost fashion in between time), so resulted in a flood of memories for him. It reminds me of the power of taste (and smell in particular) in drawing back memories of the past (a la recherche du temps perdu - see Marcel Proust)
How I made it:
Slice off thin pieces of rind from 1 large orange and cut into thin strips (julienne). Blanch in boiling water a couple of times (to remove the bitterness). Bring to a boil 130g sugar with 130g water, set aside half in a bowl and then add the orange rind to the remainder and simmer till the rind is glossy and candied. Drain the rind (adding any remaining liquid to the reserve syrup), chop finely and set aside.
In a mixer beat together 1 egg, 2 yolks and 75g sugar till light and white. Sift in 15g cornstarch and 15g cocoa powder and mix delicately. Fold in 60g ground almonds. Whip up 2 egg whites till you see hard peaks forming and then add 20g sugar and beat briefly till the egg whites become glossy. Mix in a couple tablespoons into the cake batter to soften it and then fold the remaining egg whites. Bake at 200c in a 7-inch round cake tin (line the bottom with parchment paper) for between 25-35 minutes depending on your oven (till a cake tester comes out clean and the cake sponges back to the touch). Turn onto a grill and let cool.
Whip up 3 egg whites till you see hard peaks forming and then add 30g sugar and continue beating till glossy. Melt 100g dark chocolate. Fold in 2 egg yolks and 50g butter (or cooking margarine for dairy-free) into the melted chocolate. Fold in the egg whites.
To assemble: flip the cake over if you haven’t already done so (so that the flat bottom is now on top) make a small mark on the edge/side of the cake with a knife (so the cake can be easily re-aligned later), then cut the cake in half lengthwise and set the top layer aside. Mix 40ml of Cointreau or Grand Marnier with the remaining sugar syrup and dab the inside of the cake with syrup quite generously using a pastry brush. Spread some of the chocolate mousse on top (about 1/3), sprinkle with all the orange rind evenly across the top. Place the top layer of the cake (align it up!), and then dab with the remaining syrup and cover the entire cake with the remaining chocolate mousse. Decorate the sides with chocolate vermicelli (or chocolate shavings if you can be bothered making them - and the rose made of spun sugar even less!). Dust with cocoa powder using a sifter.
Serves 6-8. You can increase the quantities for a larger cake pan.
You can make the sponge cake a day ahead and leave the assembling (with the sugar syrup and chocolate mousse) anytime on the day you will be serving it.
