GINGER FOX CHOCOLATE CAKE

This is a cake I devised for the lovely guys at Hodmedods, the fab beans and pulse company doing great things down the road from me in Suffolk. They have this and other great recipes using their British grown beans, peas and quinoa,on their website https://hodmedods.co.uk/blogs/recipes

Made of carlin peas, it has become a firm favourite with everyone I know who has made it. Don’t let the fact it is made of peas put you off. It is, as they say, absolutely fabulous.

Great for entertaining as it makes a large cake and will serve 12 easily. It’s a great ice breaker to ask guests to guess the main ingredient, a very difficult task as it tastes nothing like peas.

Ingredients

Cake

200g Good Quality Dark Chocolate or Chocolate Chips

175g Unsalted Butter

3 Tablespoons Syrup from the jar of stem ginger

200g Cooked Hodmedod’s Red Fox Peas (Carlin Peas)

200g Light Muscovado Sugar

4 Eggs, separated

1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger

4 Pieces of Stem Ginger, chopped (about 80g)

Cocoa powder for cake tin.

Decoration

125g Good Quality Dark Chocolate

20g Unsalted Butter

80ml Double Cream

2 Tablespoons of Syrup from the jar of stem ginger

1-2 Pieces of Stem Ginger, chopped

Method

You will need a  9” spring release cake tin, bottom lined and greased with butter and dusted with cocoa powder.

Preheat the oven to 165c (fan) 325f

1. Break up the chocolate and put it in a heatproof bowl with the butter and ginger syrup.
2. Put bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir occasionally until melted.
3. Put the peas into a processor and process until resembling coarse ground almonds.
4. Add the sugar, ground ginger, egg yolks and process again until combined.
5. Turn the mixture out into a large bowl and stir in the chopped ginger.
6. In a separate clean bowl whisk the four egg whites until stiff.
7. Using a metal spoon fold half the whites into the chocolate mixture then fold in the remaining half.
8. Tip the mixture into the cake tin and cook for 45 – 50 mins until set. Don’t worry if the cake cracks slightly.
9. Take out of the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before taking off the outer ring.
10. When the cake is completely cool make the icing.
11. Put the chocolate, cream, butter and ginger syrup in a bowl over gently simmering water and stir until melted, smooth and glossy.
12. Spoon over the top of the cake and spread to the edges with a palette knife.
13. Leave to set a little before distributing the remaining pieces of ginger on the top.

When cutting, wipe the knife blade between cuts to ensure a beautifully clean cut.