Nigel Slater’s recipes for chocolate mascarpone cake, and chocolate praline wafers (2024)

I like smashing an Easter egg – that crisp snap as the wafer-thin chocolate shatters into pointed shards when you break it. Chocolate so crisp you can hear it crack. I have made chocolate eggs in a previous life and a right fuss it was to get them out of their moulds without breaking them.

At Easter, I now prefer to melt the chocolate, pour it over baking parchment and let it set into the thinnest possible sheets. Before it does, I scatter the surface with a dust of glistening praline, crumbled crystallised roses or violets and candied yuzu or orange peel, which works so well with darker chocolate. Roasted almonds or hazelnuts are on my list, too.

I have been known to make paskha at Easter, where cream cheese is studded with crystallised fruits and ground almonds, and weighted under muslin. The result is like a thick, uncooked cheesecake. It’s heavenly spread on to toasted brioche. Inspired by that recipe, I have used a lighter rendition to spread over a hazelnut cake with nuggets of chocolate marbled through it and coated with a vanilla mascarpone cream. Happy Easter.

Chocolate mascarpone cake

A nutty cake with soft vanilla-scented cream for a special occasion. Serves 8, if not more

Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Line the base of a 20cm loose-bottomed, deep-sided springform cake tin with baking parchment.

Cut the butter into small pieces and put them in the bowl of an electric food mixer, add the sugar and cream together until light and smooth.

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan over a moderate heat until golden, moving them regularly so they colour evenly. Grind the nuts to a coarse powder in a food processor. Finely chop the chocolate.

Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them briefly with a fork until yolks and whites are mixed, then slowly add them to the butter and sugar, mixing thoroughly between each addition. Mix the flour with the cinnamon. Tip in the ground nuts and half the flour, beat briefly at slow speed, then add the remaining flour and chopped chocolate, and mix briefly.

Gently mix in the espresso, then transfer to the lined baking tin, quickly smoothing the surface, and bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is lightly spongy to the touch (test for doneness with a skewer). If the cake is colouring too quickly, place a piece of foil over the tin for the last 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to settle for 15 minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.

To make the filling, whip the cream until thick. Beat the mascarpone and sugar together, add the vanilla extract, then fold in the cream. Take care not to over whisk. Refrigerate until needed.

Slice the cake in half horizontally, then place the bottom half on a cake stand or plate. Spoon a third of the mascarpone mixture on top and smooth the surface. Place a second slice of cake on top, then add a second third of the mixture and smooth with a palette knife. Finally, spread the sides with the remaining mixture and dust with cocoa powder.

Chocolate praline wafers

If you prefer skin-on almonds, soak in boiling water for 10 minutes, then pop them from their skins. Dry in a tea towel then lightly toast. Keep a few sugared nuts whole for decorating. Makes 250g

Lightly oil a baking sheet with groundnut or vegetable oil. Put the skinned nuts into a pan and warm over a low to moderate heat. Move the nuts around from time to time until pale golden. Sprinkle in the sugar and let it melt, but don’t stir. Let the sugar become a rich amber, then tip out on to the oiled baking sheet and leave them to set.

When the praline is crisp, crush it with the end of a rolling pin or in a pestle and mortar. You can use a food processor, but don’t grind the nuts to a fine powder: you want a mixture of textures from gravel to coarse dust. Then set aside.

Place a large sheet (or 2 smaller sheets) of baking parchment on the work surface. Put a pan of water on to boil and find a heatproof bowl that fits snugly into the top without touching the water. Break the chocolate into small pieces and put them in the bowl, lower the heat so the water is barely simmering and leave to melt. It is crucial not to stir. Occasionally, press the unmelted chocolate under the liquid chocolate with a spoon, but do not stir.

Pour the melted chocolate on to the baking parchment in 5 patches, with plenty of room between them, then, using the back of a spoon, push the chocolate into a rough rectangle (don’t be too precise, or it will lose its charm). While the chocolate is still wet, scatter over crushed praline, pistachios, candied peel and crystallised rose petals and violets.

Leave the chocolate to set in a cool place then break into pieces.

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