Triple Choc Crunch Gateau

Well, I regard that as a wasted afternoon - the cake (see yesterday's post) was a huge disappointment!

The cooked cake layers stuck to my non-stick cake pans and broke up round the edges on removal. Despite being crumbly, the cake also had a strangely sticky texture. While handling the layers for assembly, the edges broke up even more, and the meringue topping started to separate. I also felt the recipe used too much cream in the filling.

Although the cake was pleasant to eat, with a nice contrast between the cake, meringue and cream filling, I felt that the chocolate flavour wasn't intense enough. I usually make chocolate cakes with a far greater chocolate content - often both cocoa and melted chocolate.

Not a recipe to put into the 'keep' file, I'm afraid. I was going to start experimenting with photographing my baking efforts too, but I didn't think this was worth it!

PS - the cake was eaten over three days, refrigerated but brought to room temperature before serving. The layer of meringue which ended up in the middle of the cake, topped with cream, quickly melted into the cream to make a marshmallowy layer. The meringue topping gradually collapsed and separated from the cake, but stayed crisp on the surface over the three days.

Although this cake wasn't a success, I quite like the idea of a meringue topping baked into the cake. Perhaps adding meringue to just one cake layer would be better, although I'd need to find a better cake recipe. A filling of whipped cream and a drizzle of dulce de leche would be nicer than adding chopped Rolos, too, I think.