Ingredients
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4 large eggs, separated
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1/2 cup granulated sugar
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3/4 cup flour, plus
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1 tablespoon flour
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1/2 cup cornstarch, plus
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1 tablespoon cornstarch
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1/2 teaspoon baking powder
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1 1/4 cups good quality milk chocolate chips (8 oz)
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1 (4 ounce) good quality semisweet chocolate bars, grated, divided use
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2 tablespoons unsalted pistachios, finely chopped
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1 (7 ounce) package marzipan paste or 1 (7 ounce) package almond paste (you might not use all of it)
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green food coloring paste
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1 tablespoon unsalted pistachios, finely chopped
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2 cups heavy cream, divided
Instructions
- Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, gradually adding granulated sugar.
- Next, mix in the egg yolks one at a time, just enough to combine.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and cornstarch; gradually & gently fold into the egg mixture to combine - be careful not to deflate the egg whites by overmixing.
- Line a large nonstick springform pan with parchment paper and fill with the batter.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F (175 C or gas mark 2) for 30 minutes - it will only rise up partway.
- Let cool completely.
- Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup of the cream in a small pan over medium-low heat, then stir in the milk chocolate until it melts and is smooth(takes about 5 minutes.)
- Remove pan from heat and let cool for 1 hour at room temperature.
- Finely grate the bittersweet chocolate using a microplane grater and divide into two portions.
- Beat 1 1/2 cups of the cream until stiff peaks form.
- Stir chopped nuts and half (one portion) of the grated chocolate gently into the cooled melted chocolate mixture.
- Gently fold together the whipped cream and the cooled melted chocolate mixture until just combined.
- Remove ring from springform pan and carefully slice the cake into three even (very thin)layers using a large serrated knife.
- Place one cake layer on a large plate, spread with 1/3 of the chocolate ganache, then top with another cake layer, another layer of 1/3 of the ganache, followed by another cake layer.
- Spread the remaining chocolate ganache mixture all over the top and sides of the cake.
- Chill for 2 hours.
- Knead the marzipan(with enough powdered sugar to make it sweet if unsweetened) until well blended and soft like playdough, this takes about 5-10 minutes by hand (optional: you may use food coloring paste to dye the marzipan green if desired.)
- Place marzipan between two sheets of wax papper and roll out into very flat circle, about the size of your springform pan.
- Set a plate on top of the marzipan and use the plate as a guide to cut out a perfect circle; then cut circle into 16 triangles.
- Set the marzipan triangles in a spiral around the top of the chilled cake, pressing down slightly so they stick - there should be very narrow gaps between each triangle - if desired, curl up the pointy tips decoratively first.
- Coat the sides of the cake with some the remaining grated chocolate (save just a bit to sprinkle on top later).
- Beat the remaining 3/4 cups of cream with the vanilla sugar to taste until stiff peaks form.
- Shortly before serving, garnish cake with swirls of the whipped vanilla cream, the remaining chopped nuts, and sprinkle any remaining grated chocolate on top.