CHOCOLATE MONA DE PASCUA
Here is the "all chocolate" version of the typical Spanish Easter cake! Soft and super delicious, our Mona is also very easy and quick and is ideal to prepare with your children! The egg-free cocoa base is ready to bake in just 2 minutes!
Attrezzature
- springform cake pan of 18 cm
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 85 g unpeeled almonds
- 120 g 100% wholemeal flour
- 20 g bitter cocoa
- 140 g brown sugar
- 8 g vanilla baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- orange zest grated
- 80 g melted butter at room temperature
- 250 ml whole milk at room temperature
For the Nutella filling:
- 100 ml fresh whipping cream cold from the fridge
- 3 tablespoons of Nutella or other cocoa spread
For the chocolate icing:
- 80 g 70% dark chocolate
- 50 ml whole milk
- 1 teaspoon liquid honey
To complete:
- 30 g dark chocolate in flakes
- chocolate eggs
Instructions
- Turn the oven on to 180°C in static mode and, while it reaches temperature, prepare the cake dough: finely chop the almonds to turn them into a sort of raw flour.
- Pour them into a bowl and add: wholemeal flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and grated orange zest. Mix with a fork.
- Now pour the melted butter and the milk into the bowl: work the dough for 1 minute with an electric whisk to mix everything well and avoid lumps.
- Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured 18 cm springform pan, level it and bake for 40 minutes. Test with a toothpick, take out of the oven and leave to cool. Remove the cake from the mold and let it cool completely on a cake rack.
- In the meantime, prepare the filling: whip the cream, then add the Nutella, working it gently with a spatula with movements from bottom to top. Place in the fridge covering with film.
- Prepare the icing too: chop the chocolate and place it on a plate together with milk and honey and melt in the microwave at 800 w for 1 minute. Mix to combine and getting a smooth and shiny cream. Cover with film and let cool completely.
- Fill and decorate: when the cake is cold, cut it into two discs of equal height and spread the lower one with the Nutella mousse.
- Cover with the top disc and go over the edges with a spatula.
- Spread the chocolate icing on the surface of the cake using a spoon. (See notes at the bottom of the recipe).
- Finally, decorate your Mona de Pascua with chocolate flakes, eggs of different sizes and flavors and, inevitably in perfect Spanish style, lots of colored feathers!
- Your chocolate Mona de Pascua is ready to be enjoyed!
Notes
- I chose to use the icing only to decorate the top of the cake, but if you want you can also cover the edges: the doses are still enought!
- To make the recipe even quicker you can use almond flour instead of ground almonds, but I prefer the latter because they give a more rustic note to the dessert (remaining less fine) which goes perfectly with wholemeal flour.
- You have to store your mona de Pascua in the fridge (due to the cream filling) and should be consumed within 3 days.