Soft Chocolate Cake with Gingerbread spices, Live with Pierre Hermé
I first met Pierre Hermé 9 years ago. I was then a year in the City of Lights and as part of my search for all possible information in the field of patisserie, I purchased all the relevant magazines every month. An advertisement appeared in one of them stating that Monsieur Hermé would be present at one of his boutiques on a certain date, in order to sign his books. Of course it was clear to me that this was my moment! The moment when I can meet the maestro himself, a kind of life-changing moment that appears in every good story.
I arrived at the boutique in the 16th arrondissement and stood in line with many others, holding one of the books I had taken from the shelf. When I got to the chef’s table I handed him the book with a smile and mumbled the sentence I memorized all the way “Nice to meet you, my name is Sharon and I am an Israeli blogger writing about the French patisserie, I would love to have an interview with you”. I sent the words to the space between me and the Chef and wore a virtual helmet.
The Monsieur raised his hand, pointed at a woman standing next to him and said in a whisper, “Vanessa?” After a month I was already in “Maison Hermé” in an intimate interview with him. In today’s terms it was a less than good interview, Hermé was quiet and didn’t speak English, and I was at the beginning of my journey, insecure in French and mostly shocked.
9 years have passed during which I have met Hermé dozens of times. Our relationship has become increasingly friendly, we communicate in private messages, exchange experiences and happy to meet. This is not a trivial matter, for me it is really a yeast dough that swelled and became something warm, comforting and exciting.
Today 2.12 at 18:00 Paris time, our relationship will reach new heights when we do Live Instagram together! Hermé, who has become very active on social media, especially in the current era, invited me to concoct with him a wonderful recipe that suits both my love of chocolate and the winter holiday season. In French – “Moelleux au Chocolat et Pain d’Epices”, and in English – “Soft Chocolate cake with winter spices” that are usually found in a French product called “Pain d’Epices”, meaning bread with spices which is a product very reminiscent of gingerbread and associated with the winter holidays.
I’m so excited to invite you to our Live Instagram! The live will be broadcast in French and I will also occasionally translate into English.
Join me on Instagram.
Soft Chocolate cake with spices
12-15 units (Silicone cupcake mold, 6cm, Height: 3.5cm)
Ingredients 
Chocolate ganache with spices:
100 g heavy whipping cream
100 g dark chocolate 70 %, chopped
10 g honey, I use Lavender
1 g gingerbread spices (cinnamon, ginger, coriander, anise, cloves, star anise, nutmeg and black pepper).
Soft Chocolate cake:
250 g dark chocolate 70 %, chopped
250 g soft butter
220 g caster sugar
4 eggs
70 g flour, sifted
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 170C degrees.
2. Prepare the ganache (it is recommended to prepare a few hours before): In a small saucepan heat cream, honey and spices until simmering and almost boiling. Pour over the chocolate, wait a few seconds and mix gently to obtain a smooth ganache. Refrigerate for half an hour.
3. Remove from the refrigerator, transfer to a piping bag (you can use a round piping tip No. 11, optional), pipe 3cm balls on a small pan lined with parchement paper, freeze.
4. Prepare the cake batter: Melt chocolate on a Bain-Marie (double bolier), or in the microwave.
5. In a large bowl, mix soft butter with sugar, add a third of the hot chocolate at a time and mix. Adding the chocolate in stages prevents the butter from melting (melting the butter will damage the texture of the cake).
6. Add the eggs, mix and then add flour and mix until well combined, Use immediately.
7. Fill the silicon mold with the cake mixture, up to half the height of the mold. Place a ganache ball in each socket and hide it inside the batter. Cover with the rest of the batter.
8. Bake for about 18 minutes, remove from the oven and cool.
9. You can now decorate with Confectioner’s Sugar.
Bon-Appétit
Sharon
