Sweet sweet Friday: Chocolate Swirl Cake

I have always, always wanted to make this cake. Well, maybe not always, but at least since 2004, when it graced the front cover of Julie Le Clerc's Feast @ home. It's a blessed union of chocolate, cream cheese, butter and eggs and I have thought about making it for years, even when my copy of the book was 12,000 miles away in a box in my brother's shed. Especially then, in fact.
Now, with the remains of it wrapped in tinfoil in the fridge, I can't wait to make it again. Once you've made it, you'll feel the same way.

Chocolate Swirl Sliver Cake
It took the April edition of We Should Cocoa, hosted by Choclette, to prompt me to dig out Feast @ Home (which naturally fell open to the page the cake is on). Julie Le Clerc says eating it will "remain with you as one of those 'died and gone to heaven' experiences", which is true. She also says to serve it in small slivers, as it is very rich. This is also true, but in our house at least we have found that one small sliver is not as good as two. Or three. Julie also says it serves 16, but at the moment it is serving two very greedy adults (one of whom claims not to like cream cheese in anything) perfectly nicely and neither of us are interested in sharing it.

250g cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1tsp pure vanilla extract

150g butter
300g good quality dark chocolate (I used Whittakers 72% Dark Ghana)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1Tbsp strong coffee, cooled
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 150C fan bake. Grease and line a 22cm springform cake tin (Julie says some people find it overflows a 22cm tin, but it was fine for me).
Put the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine, then set aside.
Melt the chocolate and butter together, either in the oven as it heats up (the way I always do it), in a double boiler or in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.
Place the eggs, sugar, coffee and salt in another bowl and whisk with an electric mixer for five minutes, or until very thick and pale. Gradually add the melted chocolate and butter mixture while continuing to whisk until combined.
Pour this batter into the prepared cake tin. Dollop big spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture on top. Push a blunt knife or small spatula into the mixture and swirl around to marble it (this is good fun). Knock the tin with your hand to settle the mixtures, then bake for 40-45 minutes untila skewer inserted comes out sticky but not liquid coated. Leave to cool completely in the tin before serving.

Recipe from Feast @ Home (Penguin NZ, 2004) reproduced with the kind permission of Julie Le Clerc.

Have a great weekend, everyone - see you for some non-baking-related fun next week!