Shane had a pretty significant birthday last weekend. “I don’t want a big party,” he said “birthdays are for cake with kids.” So we had a very small party, with cake, and kids.
I made him his very favorite cake, Martha Stewart’s Inside Out Chocolate Torte. It’s the same cake I made him for a different significant birthday, oh, about 10 years ago.
I neglected to take any good pictures of the cake, however. So above you’ll see the man of the hour devouring the last slice a couple of days later.
• Inside Out German Chocolate Torte •
From Martha
For the cake:
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pans
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch spring form pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the paper; set aside. Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl, and set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted; set aside.
Sift together flour and salt; set aside. Place sugar and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vanilla and chocolate mixture, and stir to combine. Add dry ingredients, and stir to combine. Divide batter between the two pans using an offset spatula to distribute batter evenly, and smooth the layers. Bake until the center is set, about 20 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool completely before un-molding.
For the filling:
1 fourteen-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks
2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
Place milk, butter, and vanilla in a medium saucepan, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and combined.
Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl, and, whisking constantly, add some of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks until combined. Whisk the mixture back into the saucepan, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir in coconut and pecans. Cool completely, and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use, up to 2 days.
For the ganache:
1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
Place chips in a large heat-proof bowl.
Bring cream to a boil over medium-high heat; pour directly over chocolate. Allow to sit 10 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to gently stir chocolate and cream until well combined and smooth. Let sit at room temperature until cooled and just thickened, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes, but up to an hour depending on the temperature of the room.
Assembly:
Place one layer on a 9-inch cardboard cake round. Spread filling over the layer, and invert the second layer onto the top, leaving the smooth side up. Press down gently on top layer to evenly distribute filling to edges. Using a metalspatula, smooth filling flush with sides of cake. Refrigerate until ready to glaze.
Carefully transfer torte off cardboard round onto a wire rack set over a baking pan. Pour enough ganache glaze over cake to fully coat, shaking pan gently to help spread ganache if necessary. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes. The ganache in the pan may be melted and strained through a fine sieve and added back to glaze. Pour remaining glaze over torte, allowing excess to drip off sides. If top is not smooth, gently shake pan or run an offset spatula quickly over surface. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving. Carefully slide the cake off of the wire rack and onto serving platter.
