I burned the top of this cake so when I took it out of the oven, I almost put it straight in the bin.
It was a birthday cake for my beloved and his family for a celebratory lunch and I thought it would taste awful.
BUT, I had no more eggs, so couldn’t make another, plus it had a tonne of expensive chocolate in it so I decided that I could maybe serve it upside down and tell everyone to not eat the bottom bit.
In the end, everyone loved it. It only tasted a tiny bit burned and the rest was delicious. Especially with some cream!
Lesson learned, don’t catastrophize!
Wendy, a fellow movie star recipe fan that I follow on Instagram told me that when she made this cake it turned out with a very brownie-like consistency. Mine too. Nice and fudgy!
The recipe is included in Luca Dotti’s lovely book Audrey at Home. I don’t consider myself an Audrey fan and I didn’t know much about her life until I read this book but I wrote a little review of it for Eat Drink Films when it first came out. It’s highly recommended and I must cook something else from it soon, as I loved her Penne a la Vodka
and her chocolate cake too. Wendy tells me that her Sea Bass en Papillote is also fab so watch this space!
Audrey Hepburn’s Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream
Serves 12
- 11 ounces (300g) unsweetened dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk (just enough to soften the chocolate)
- 1 stick (120g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
- 8 eggs, separated
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- Flour for pan
- Powdered sugar
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C, gas mark 6). Butter and flour a 10– or 12-inch (25 or 28 cm) round baking pan.
Melt the chocolate with the milk in a bain-marie. Add the butter and stir to blend thoroughly. Turn off the heat and add the 8 egg yolks, mix. In a separate bowl gradually add the sugar to the egg whites and whip to form stiff peaks. Gently fold into the chocolate – egg yolk mixture. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven, open the door, and leave the cake inside for a few minutes (this will prevent the crust from cracking). Remove from the oven and cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool completely before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream.
Luca notes that this cake is one of those things that tastes even better the day after you have made it, if it lasts that long!
14 responses
Everything looks yummy!
Everything looks yummy!
Please delete this; huge mistake. Your website is awesome. That wasn’t for you. That was for the shop Next. I accidentally pasted that from another window. I am so so sorry!
No worries Victoria – I felt your pain! Jx
Please delete this; huge mistake. Your website is awesome. That wasn’t for you. That was for the shop Next. I accidentally pasted that from another window. I am so so sorry!
No worries Victoria – I felt your pain! Jx
“Remove from the oven and cook for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan”
What does this mean? How can you cook something that’s removed from the oven?
“Remove from the oven and cook for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan”
What does this mean? How can you cook something that’s removed from the oven?
Hi Diana – my goodness, you have spotted a typo! So sorry, that should be cool rather than cook. I’ve corrected that. Thanks so much for pointing it out – Jenny x
Hi Diana – my goodness, you have spotted a typo! So sorry, that should be cool rather than cook. I’ve corrected that. Thanks so much for pointing it out – Jenny x
All chocolate cakes taste far better nextday. One really liked Audrey Hepburn so will venture to make her cake in morning as its 11pm here
Oooh, do let me know how it turns out Sir Kevin! I made this again recently, and again the top burned. So proceed with caution! From a little tour around the internet, 375 degrees looks to be standard for this sort of cake, so I would try your oven at a lower temperature than suggested in this recipe xx
All chocolate cakes taste far better nextday. One really liked Audrey Hepburn so will venture to make her cake in morning as its 11pm here
Oooh, do let me know how it turns out Sir Kevin! I made this again recently, and again the top burned. So proceed with caution! From a little tour around the internet, 375 degrees looks to be standard for this sort of cake, so I would try your oven at a lower temperature than suggested in this recipe xx