prune & port chocolate cake with port-poached prunes

Hmm, what else to report? It is a weird old feeling having finished the book and being in limbo before the launch…it was such a bloody relief to have the focus of constantly working for the last year, and although I’m still working all the time, it’s a bit different without that massive goal to be achieved. I have been intrigued with the PR process and have been merrily interviewing with a range of media, I could talk all day…but the accompanying photo shoots. Argggh, sh*t I hate having my photo taken and am spectacularly bad at it. The only way I look half decent is if I’m laughing my head off, but those shots aren’t used so much as it’s just my face and a lot of teeth…! This weekend I am going to be sharing a sneak-peek inside the book, so I hope you’ll come back for a squiz at the pics and to read a little more about it. Meanwhile – stay warm, eat cake.

(Oh I totally forgot the pic below – isn’t she lovely, found in a gallery in the Netherlands, love me a bit of Dutch portrait-action).

Put port in a medium saucepan with ½ cup water and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar,  for 5 minutes then remove from the heat and stir in remaining port. Leave to cool then store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two weeks. Makes 1 1/2 cups

Put prunes and port into a medium saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes then add butter and cocoa. Stir until the butter is melted then remove from the heat and add baking soda. Leave to cool for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 170˚C and spray a bundt or ring tin lightly with baking oil. Put prune mixture into a food processor and whiz to a smooth-ish paste. Add the sugar and eggs and whiz again to combine. Add the flour and pulse once or twice then add the mascarpone and pulse again until the mixture is combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before tipping out onto a cooling rack. Once cool drizzle with half of the ganache, then serve with whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream, poached prunes and remaining ganache. Serves 8-10

Put chopped chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl and place over a pot of simmering water on the stove top. Stir until melted then remove from the heat and wisk until smooth. Add the port and whisk again. Leave to cool in the fridge for 45 minutes before pouring over the cake. Makes 1 1/4 cups