Chocolate-Coffee Gateau with Favored Ricotta Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

Chocolate Sponge

40 mL cake flour
1/2 tbsp corn flour
1/4 tsp baking powder (optional)

1 egg white
pinch of cream of tartar (optional)
3 tbsp sugar

40 mL milk/water with 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ½ tbsp sugar
pinch of salt

1 egg yolk
20 mL vegetable oil

Coffee Sponge

40 mL cake flour
1/2 tbsp corn flour
1/4 tsp baking powder (optional)

1 egg white
pinch of cream of tartar (optional)
3 tbsp sugar

40 mL milk/water with 2 tbsp instant coffee powder
2 ½ tbsp sugar
pinch of salt

1 egg yolk
20 mL vegetable oil

Nutella-Coffee Butter Sponge (Base Layers)

125 g butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp Instant coffee powder
1 tbsp nutella
4 tbsp milk
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ⅓ cup cake flour
2 tbsp corn flour
3/4 tsp baking powder

Method:

Chocolate Sponge

Preheat oven to 170 °C.

In a bowl, combine together flours and baking powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk egg white and cream of tartar till frothy; gradually add-in sugar and continue whisking till stiff peaks form (I always whisk egg white first because I use the same whisk for egg yolk mixture later without washing); set aside.

In a cup of warm milk, dissolve-in cocoa powder, sugar and salt; set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk egg yolk till pale and glossy.

Stir-in oil and chocolate solution, continue whisking till batter is fully incorporated.

Fold-in flours mixtures, stir-well to form homogeneous batter.

Gradually and gently, fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk batter.

Pour batter into a baking paper layered cake pan (18 cm) and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before assembly.

With a flexible thin knife or spatula, loose cake from pan and invert onto a serving plate for layered cake assembly.

Coffe Sponge

Preheat oven to 170 °C.

In a bowl, combine together flours and baking powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk egg white and cream of tartar till frothy; gradually add-in sugar and continue whisking till stiff peaks form (I always whisk egg white first because I use the same whisk for egg yolk mixture later without washing); set aside.

In a cup of warm milk, dissolve-in coffee powder, sugar and salt; set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk egg yolk till pale and glossy.

Stir-in oil and chocolate solution, continue whisking till batter is fully incorporated.

Fold-in flours mixtures, stir-well to form homogeneous batter.

Gradually and gently, fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk batter.

Pour batter into a baking paper layered cake pan (18 cm) and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before assembly.

With a flexible thin knife or spatula, loose cake from pan and invert onto a serving plate for layered cake assembly.

Nutella-Coffee Butter Sponge

Preheat oven to 180 °C.

Lightly grease a cake pan ( 18 cm), dust bottom and side of pan with bread crumbs (or flour) and tapping out excess; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk butter and sugar till pale, thick and glossy.

Add eggs, one at a time and whisk until homogeneous batter forms.

Add-in coffee powder, nutella, milk and cocoa powder, whisk to fully incorporated.

Add-in flours and baking powder, whisk thoroughly.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.

Remove cake from oven, let cake cool in pan for at least 10 minutes (allow cake to shrink from cake pan).

Run a thin flexible knife or spatula around the pan to loosen the cake, invert cake onto a plate and assembly as desired.

Ricotta Cream Frosting

250 g ricotta cheese
125 g icing sugar

Whisk thoroughly cheese with sugar until homogeneous cream resulted.

3 tbsp cream and fresh fruits / 3 tbsp cream and 1 tbsp fruits jam / 3 tbsp cream and 1 tsp instant coffee with 2 tbsp sultanas / 3 tbsp cream and 2 tsp cocoa powder