
There are food blogs and there are FOOD BLOGS.
I have never come away from Deeba’s blog feeling anything less than mind boggling awe and extreme hunger..and that wee bit of envy of course.
This visually stunning space is packed with a whole lot of delicious bakes and this genoise cake was one I had my eyes on for a long time.
I was also super thrilled to finally make Mascarpone cheese at home. Trust me, its not all that complicated and you are just two ingredients away from Mascarpone heaven.Once you’ve eaten homemade you will never ever want the store made variety.
This is one truly spectacular dessert that will have swooning with delight!
CHOCOLATE GENOISE CAKE with MOCHA MASCARPONE
Ingredients:
1 chocolate genoise sponge (recipe below)
1 portion of Mocha Mascarpone Cream (recipe below)
Coffee syrup
Dark chocolate shavings, flakes & coffee beans etc to garnish
To assemble:
Make a strong coffee syrup with 1/4 cup of hot water, 2-3 tsps sugar & 2 tsps coffee powder. Cool.
Cut the genoise into 2 horizontal layers.
Place one layer on the cake platter. Brush well with the coffee syrup. Sandwich with a little less than half the mocha mascarpone.
Top with the second layer, & brush that well with the coffee syrup
Frost the top & sides of the cake with the remaining mascarpone. Grate dark chocolate over the top, edge with coffee beans, & sift cocoa over the edges.
Chill for 3-4 hours.
CHOCOLATE GENOISE
As adapted from this recipe @ Baking Obsession
Ingredients:
3 tbsp clarified butter/ghee
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
4 large eggs (I used 5 as the eggs were smallish)
2/3 cup fine granulated vanilla sugar
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line, grease & flour an 8-inch round cake pan.
Sift the flour and cocoa together three times; reserve.
Bring some water to a boil in a large pan/griddle & reduce to simmer. Place eggs & sugar in a large bowl, whisk constantly over the simmering water, heat the eggs to lukewarm (about 105F). Remove the bowl from the pan; leave the skillet on the stove but turn off the heat. With an electric mixer, beat the egg mixture at high speed until it has cooled, tripled in volume, and resembles softly whipped cream, about 5 minutes in a heavy-duty mixer or longer with a less powerful mixer.
Meanwhile, set the bowl of clarified butter/ghee and vanilla in the skillet of hot water, with the burner off, to keep it warm.
Sift about one-third of the flour and cocoa over the whipped eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the mixture-quickly but gently-until combined. Fold in half the remaining flour and cocoa, then fold in the rest. Remove the warm butter mixture from the skillet. Scoop about 1 cup of the batter into the bowl with the butter and fold together until completely combined. Use the large rubber spatula to fold the butter mixture completely into the remaining batter. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and tilt to level.
Bake until the cake beginning to shrink slightly around the edges and the top springs back when pressed with your finger, about 40-45 minutes. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a rack.
To unmold, run a small knife or spatula around the inner edges of the pan. Invert it onto a rack and remove the parchment liner. Turn the cake right side up. The génoise can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
MOCHA MASCARPONE FROSTING
Ingredients:
12oz Mascarpone Cream (recipe below)
200ml low fat cream (25% fat- Amul)
1 tsp coffee powder
2-3 tbsps ground sugar (according to taste)
Method:
Beat mascarpone cheese with a wooden spoon till smooth. Fold in the rest of the ingredients & mix with the spoon till smooth.
HOMEMADE MASCARPONE CREAM
as adapted from Baking Obsession
Makes about 12 oz
Ingredients:
600ml low fat cream (25 %) pasteurized cream
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
Method:
Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering.
Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F.I dont have a candy thermometer so I heated it for about 15 minutes.
Add the lime juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir.
Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.

aymanalmasry
/ September 29, 2010the cake was amazeing but how can i make it in to 10inch,thanks
El
/ September 17, 2010Seriously impressed with this cake. And homemade mascarpone. wonderful!
Simply Life
/ September 13, 2010wow, that cake looks amazing!
Shaheen {The Purple Foodie}
/ September 10, 2010Hey Sheba! You bake such awesomeness =)
s
/ September 11, 2010Thanks Shaheen!
Juliana
/ September 1, 2010Wow, this cake looks awesome…would love to have a piece of this cake
SS
/ August 29, 2010That’s a truly gorgeous dessert!
s
/ August 30, 2010Hey thanks…yes it def was!
peanutts
/ August 21, 2010oh my , thats one gorgeous looking cake.
oriya foodie
/ August 19, 2010Looks so yum! decadent !
bergamot
/ August 19, 2010Wow this looks just delicious and of course really professional
indie.tea
/ August 19, 2010Ooo, how magical and delicious that cake looks.
As for Suri Cruise (the post below)…I personally think that its tacky when parents allow their children to dress like little adults…in a kind of Jon-Benet Ramsey way.
s
/ August 30, 2010Reeni
/ August 19, 2010What a heavenly delicious cake! I am so impressed that you made your own mascarpone. Great job!
Namitha
/ August 18, 2010How have you been ? it’s been a while, rt?
The cake looks fantastic !
s
/ August 30, 2010Im doing good namitha..thanks …
Sarah Naveen
/ August 18, 2010oh wow!! this looks so delicious..!!!
Krishnaveni
/ August 18, 2010Hi, first time here, lovely cake, beautiful
Angie's Recipes
/ August 18, 2010I think that I have no chance or hope of getting back to my smaller-sized pants any more….just a couple of days ago I told myself to cut down the consumption of cheese, now I see this luscious and rich Mascarpone frosting! Sighs….
prathibha
/ August 18, 2010Hey..Thanks for stopping by…glad that u liked that checkered cake….
Wow….This cake looks really yummy…loved ur blog..will go thru the recipes slowly
kristy
/ August 18, 2010Hi there, thanks for stopping by my blog earlier and nice to meet you. Btw, your cake looks absolutely divine! How I wish I can have a slice.Hmmm…mm… Yumm… Hope to hear from you more often and enjoy your day.
Cheers, kristy
Sommer @ A Spicy Perspective
/ August 17, 2010It looks fantastic! This is the kind of dessert I dream about!
Grapefruit
/ August 17, 2010I can totally get what you mean by Deeba’s awe-inspiring and hunger-inducing blog! She never fails to surprise.
However, this comment is about you – that is a lovely looking cake and your photos are really beautiful!
Thank you for visiting my blog!
Rachana
/ August 16, 2010This Cake looks so very delicious and I have some serious chocolate cravings now
Deepa
/ August 16, 2010Really Debba is an expert…..Your cake too looks irresistible
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
ahmed sallam
/ August 15, 2010thanks alot
thank you very much
Treat and Trick
/ August 15, 2010That is really delicious and you’ve baked them perfectly.
Divya
/ August 15, 2010I’ve been eyeing this cake for ages..never felt courageous enough to attempt.Yours looks the same like Deeba’s..Ohhhh now I am doubly tempted!!
cumincoriandercardamom
/ August 14, 2010Oh boy Oh boy, you had me at chocolate
suma
/ August 14, 2010Deeba’s blog is a baker’s bible no doubt, I viisit her blog, drool and dream about baking all the stuff there:-))This one looks so dark and delicious, I must try this sometime too.
Happy Cook
/ August 14, 2010Oh yes I totally agree aobut what you are saying aobut Deeba’s place, you would be shocked to know how many times i visit her place,when i need to bake and don’t have inspiration or a recipe then i straight head to her place too.
This cake jus tlooks so so yumm and beautiful too.