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Yesterday was the 120th anniversary of the birth of the absolutely wonderful
Agatha Christie.
As some of you may know I love Agatha Christie with of course my favourite books & tv shows being the wonderfully eccentric detective Hercule Poirot & the ever morally sound & yet ever so slightly nosey Miss Marple.
Anyhoo what better way to celebrate than with a delicious death birthday cake like the one from A Murder is Announced!
(ooohhh I do love that story)
Recipe from Jane Asher as featured on the Agatha Christie website.
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Introduction by Mathew PrichardThere is nothing more indulgent than afternoon tea. I have particularly fond memories of the lazy afternoons spent with my grandmother, Agatha Christie, at Greenway as she tried out her latest ideas on us over a pot of tea and delicious cakes.
As a thank you to her fans the world over we have invited the queen of party cakes, Jane Asher, to create a recipe for Delicious Death as a novel way to mark the 120th anniversary. The recipe is inspired by a passage in one of the Miss Marple books, her 50th novel, A Murder is Announced.
I hope that you will enjoy this truly decadent cake; the dark Belgian chocolate centre and the zing of its brandy soaked cherry and ginger filling. I'm certain my grandmother would have loved it.
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Ingredients
175g dark chocolate drops (50-55% cocoa solids)
100g softened or spreadable butter
100g golden caster sugar
5 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
100g ground almonds
½ tsp baking powder
For the filling
150ml rum, brandy or orange juice
150g raisins
55g soft dark brown sugar
6-8 glace cherries
4-6 pieces crystallized ginger
1 tsp lemon juice
For the decoration
175g dark chocolate drops (50-55% cocoa solids)
150ml double cream
2 tsps apricot jam
10g crystallized violet petals
10g crystallized rose petals
1 small pt of gold leaf
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Method
Pre-heat the oven to 150ºC, (300ºF, 135ºC fan assisted). Grease an 8” deep cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment or silicone.
Prepare the filling: in a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients and stir over heat until the mixture is bubbling. Allow to simmer gently, while stirring, for at least 2 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thickened. Allow to cool.
In a small heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate drops over simmering water or in a microwave, being careful not to let it overheat. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until very pale and fluffy. Separate the eggs, setting aside the whites in a large mixing bowl, and, one by one, add 4 of the yolks to the butter/sugar mix, beating well between each one.
Add the melted chocolate and fold in carefully, then stir in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, mix together the ground almonds and baking powder, then stir them into the cake mix.
Whisk the egg whites until peaked and stiff, then fold gently into the chocolate cake mix.
Spoon the mix into the prepared cake tin, levelling the top, and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 55-65 minutes, or until firm and well risen. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out on to a rack to cool completely.
Using a serrated knife, slice the cake in half horizontally. Spread the cooled fruit filling onto one half and sandwich the two halves back together.
To decorate: put the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl and melt them together over simmering water or in a microwave. Spread the cake all over with warmed apricot jam and place on a rack over a baking tray. Keeping back a couple of tablespoonfuls, pour the icing over the whole cake, making sure it covers the top and the sides completely, scooping up the excess from the tray with a palette knife as necessary. Add any surplus to the kept back icing. Carefully transfer the cake to a 10” cake board or pretty plate.
Once the reserved icing is firm enough to pipe, place it in a piping bag with no. 8 star nozzle and pipe a scrolling line around the top and bottom edges of the cake. Leave for 2-3 hours, to set.
Place the violet and rose petals into a plastic bag and crush them into small flakes. Sprinkle these liberally around the chocolate scrolls. Finally, with a cocktail stick, pull off some small flakes of gold leaf and gently add them to the top of the cake.
Photography by Charlie Richards.
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