QUEEN ELIZABETH II'S BIRTHDAY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth! This is the cake that the Queen favors for her birthday celebrations! It's a pip. Recipe from former Royal Chef Darren McGrady. Technically this is called a Chocolate Ganache Sponge..but that's British parlance for cake.. This is not a sponge cake as we know it in the U.S.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II BIRTHDAY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Cake
6 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/8 cup dutch cocoa powder
1/4 cup melted butter

Topping and Filling 
2 cups (1 pt) heavy cream
1 lb Ghirardelli dark chocolate

Directions:
At least six hours before baking the cake, prepare the filling:
Melt half chocolate (227g). Bring to boil 1 cup of the cream. Pour cream onto chocolate and whisk until smooth, then refrigerate until set.
Turn on oven to 350.
Line an 8 inch cake tin with parchment paper and grease.
Set pan (large enough to hold mixing bowl) half full of hot water on stove; bring water to boil.
In mixing bowl, add eggs, yolks, and sugar and whisk together. Place over bowl of hot water to allow mixture to heat up. Sieve flour and cocoa and set aside. Whisk egg mixture until it doubles in volume and then fold in butter and flour mixture. Spoon mix into cake pan; bake about 20 minutes, or until cake springs back when pressed. Remove from oven onto cooling wire and make topping while cake cools. Melt remaining chocolate. Bring to boil remaining cream. Pour cream onto chocolate and whisk it until smooth and then set aside off the heat. Slice cake into three discs and spread filling onto bottom two discs and reassemble. Add remaining chocolate mix to hot topping and whisk in. Place cake back onto cooling wire and ladle topping over cake allowing it to run down the sides. Cool cake for at least two hours before decorating and serving.