Hallowe’en treats: The Raven’s Nests by John Whaite

When I was a tot mum used to throw the best Halloween parties for us: bin bags torn up and hung from the doorways, cobwebs covering the entire ceiling, and even disco lights in the dining room to create an eerie environment. Bin bags, however effective in the 90s, wouldn’t quite cut it nowadays, and so I need to impress my guests with food. These little rounds of cake, filled with cherry mousse and adorned with a tempered chocolate plume of feathers, are just the thing for an adult Halloween party. They were inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, that haunting poem of waiting and fear. These beautifully light chocolate, cherry and coffee cakes are well worth the wait.
John Whaite

Makes 4

Essential equipment
3 disposable piping bags, one fitted with 10mm nozzle, one fitted with a large star nozzle and one with a number 1 writing nozzle
4 mini savarin moulds, greased, frozen, greased again then dusted with flour
Sheet of acetate/baking paper

For the cake
30g cocoa powder
100g dark muscovado sugar
50g hot water
50g Greek yoghurt
1 egg
1 tsp coffee extract (optional)
50g dark chocolate, melted in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g plain flour

For the cherry mousse
2 gelatine leaves
200g pitted cherries (frozen are cheaper, defrost first)
80g golden caster sugar
250g whipping cream
Red food colouring paste

For the feather decorations
100g dark chocolate, tempered
2 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6.

2. Place the cocoa powder and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir together until well mixed and fairly lump-free. Add the hot water and stir to a smooth paste, then beat in the yoghurt, egg, coffee extract (if using) and the melted chocolate. Sift over the bicarbonate of soda and flour and fold to a smooth batter. Put the batter into the piping bag with a 10mm nozzle and divide between the 4 prepared moulds.

3. Bake for 10–14 minutes, or until a skewer gently inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and de-mould immediately, and allow to cool on a wire rack until completely cold.

4. To make the cherry mousse, soak the gelatine leaves in a jug of cold water – put them into the water one at a time (or else they’ll stick together and never dissolve). Blitz the cherries to a mush in a food processor or with a stick blender, then put into a small saucepan and add the sugar. Bring the cherry pulp and sugar to a boil, then simmer and allow the mixture to reduce down to a loose compote consistency. While the cherries are still hot, squeeze the surplus moisture out of the gelatine leaves and add to the pan with the cherries. Add the food colouring. Stir until the gelatine has dissolved, then allow the mixture to cool completely, but don’t let it set.

5. When the cherry compote is cool, whip the cream to soft, floppy peaks, and gently fold together with the cherry compote. Put the mousse into the piping bag fitted with large star nozzle.

6. Place the chocolate nests on serving plates and pipe a large, indulgent swirl of the cherry mousse in the centre of each one. Chill until needed.

7. For the tempered chocolate feather, put the tempered chocolate into the piping bag with small writing nozzle. Pipe a fairly thick line of chocolate about 10cm long, then, with the tip of the nozzle, drag the chocolate out diagonally on either side of the line to create a feather shape. Make 12 in total, each a slightly different size, and allow to set at room temperature.

8. Once the chocolate feathers are set, place three into the mousse of each Raven’s Nest to create a dramatic, haunting finish. Sift over some cocoa powder if desired.

This recipe is by John Whaite.
See John baking live at the BBC Good Food Show Bakes & Cakes,
Olympia London, 13-15th November.
http://www.bbcgoodfoodbakesandcakesshow.com/

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