Mini Chocolate Almond Cakes with Blackberry Buttercream and Chocolate Glaze
, Updated Sep 29, 2018
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Intensely chocolatey cakes with blackberry buttercream and rich chocolate glaze.
There was this chocolate almond cake I made all the time when I was in college. It was a very simple recipe that somehow always turned out great no matter how badly I followed the instructions (greasing the tin? who needs to do that?).
Unfortunately I can’t, for the life of me, remember where the recipe came from – quite a likely something that was passed down from my mother or from a baking book I had at the time.
I hadn’t thought about that cake in years, but I was overwhelmed with such a massive craving for chocolate the other day that I needed to make something quick and easy to satisfy the chocolate monster.
Since I could not find the recipe I decided to play around with the base ingredients: chocolate, eggs, butter, sugar, almonds and flour.
I remembered the cake was light but also very chocolatey – as if someone had taken brownies and made them less dense but no less delicious.
I am incredibly pleased to announce that my first attempt at recreating the recipe of my youth worked brilliantly – these mini chocolate and almond cakes are amazing!
Seriously easy, seriously yummy, and they taste even better the day after you bake them.
Mini Chocolate Almond Cakes with Blackberry Buttercream and Chocolate Glaze
Ingredients
- 250 g | 8.8oz plain dark chocolate, chopped
- 250 g | 8.8oz caster sugar
- 150 g | 5.3oz unsalted butter
- 125 g | 4oz ground almonds
- 75 g | 2.5oz plain all purpose flour
- 4 large eggs separated
- ½ tsp vanilla paste
- pinch salt
- Blackberry buttercream
- 10 large blackberries I used frozen
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- ---
- 250 g | 8.8oz icing sugar
- 115 g | 4oz unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2-3 tbsp double cream
- Chocolate glaze
- 150 g | 5.3oz plain dark chocolate, chopped small
- 150 g | 5.3oz double cream
- 1 tbsp golden syrup
- 2-3 tbsp whole milk to thin glaze optional
- cocoa nibs or edible flowers to decorate optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and grease a mini sandwich tin with butter. Alternatively line a muffin tin with cupcake cases or use a greased silicone muffin tin or round cake tin, greased and lined.
- Beat the egg whites and salt until you have stiff peaks and set aside.
- Place the chocolate and butter in a small pot and melt gently over very low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Stir in the egg yolks, vanilla paste and sugar. Sift in the almonds and flour and stir together until smooth.
- Add a third of the egg whites to loosen to the batter and then gently fold the rest.
- Fill the mini sandwich tin or cupcake cases about halfway up and bake for 20-23 minutes for mini cakes/cupcakes or up to 40-45 minutes for a cake. The surface of the cakes will crackle a little - that's normal. Cool in the tin and then carefully turn out.
- Put the blackberries, sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook until the blackberries burst and release their juices then strain the pulp and reserve the syrup.
- Beat the icing sugar and butter until fluffy and then gradually add the double cream and enough of the blackberry syrup to get a lovely colour.
- Put the chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream and golden syrup until almost boiling then pour over the chocolate. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes then stir until silky smooth. Add the milk if you need to thin it out slightly.
- If you wish to layer the cakes, then cut them in half and level if needed. Sandwich together with a little of the buttercream and then drizzle with the chocolate glaze until it starts to drip down the sides. Decorate with cocoa nibs or edible flowers (I used lilacs). The cakes keep very well for a couple of days.
Notes
These are beautiful! The bright purple flowers against the dark cakes and background is a really lovely effect. They sound delicious as well, I love a good chocolate almond cake 🙂 The baking I did while I was in college was far less refined than this! x
You certainly did a wonderful job recreating this cake! It is absolutely breathtaking, I adore your photography!
Thank you so much – I was very pleased with this one although took two tries to get right!
blackberry buttercream, now that sounds so special. Again, stunning photo's, really beautiful. The dark chocolate with the purple flowers, so tempting!
I think I are most of these by myself. Shhhhhh. They were so good though.
This is so pretty!! I feel like I should have a go-to chocolate cake recipe. Maybe this could be it 🙂
What stunning photographs! This cake looks delicious – you can see they are a bit more of a brownie texture which suits me just fine. Blackberry buttercream is an interesting addition too! Might have to try that combo 🙂
Lordy, lordy this is beautiful, Lucy! Is this cake pretty much the same as the one you used to make? I would love a slice – right now. The photos are just stupendous.
I am so pleased I was able to pretty much replicate the recipe. I remember it was very easy (I wasn't into complicated recipes back in college!)
Love mini desserts, this looks PERFECT. The buttercream and chocolate glaze definitely makes it even more special.
Thank you so much Bianca! Definitely hits that chocolate spot – think prefer it to brownies!
Beautiful cakes and photography:-) Wondering where you got that fab glycerine bottle!
It was found under the floorboards of my house! Truly vintage in every sense of the word
Stunning cake, recipe, props and photography as always 🙂
The blackberry buttercream is beautiful! I love your pictures.