posts may contain Amazon affiliate links, which earn me a small commission when you buy (but doesn't cost you anything extra). Occasionally I receive free products and/or run sponsored posts—this will always be stated clearly in the post. Thank you for supporting this blog.

This website contains some quotations, excerpts, and screen clips from copyrighted material. These uses fall well within the copyright doctrine of "Fair Use".
Saturday, April 7, 2012

Easter Egg Nest Cake

When I'm looking for something festive, kitschy, and fun?  I know I can turn to my girl Nigella.  She throws the kinds of parties that I want to attend.  Nothing too fussy.  We must have a drink in one hand, after all. Everything tasty.  Fun lights and decorations.  Happy chatter full of people swooning in "Brit".  I mean that in a good way - I could listen to a British accent for hours and be happy.  

So the minute I saw her Easter Egg Nest Cake, I was reminded that I've been wanting to try it.  I just always think about it at the wrong time.  But not this year.  The timing was perfect.  Mine turned out looking pretty much nothing like hers.   Except for the Cadbury Mini Eggs.  The best part.  I have to force myself NOT to open the bag before I need them by hiding it away in a high cupboard.  I love those things.

I'm going to try this again.  But probably not until next year.  It's good.  And decadent.  There's a rich, fudgy, not-overly-sweet bottom layer.  It's followed by a cool layer of softly whipped cream sweetened only by the chocolate that you fold* into it.  And the whole thing is topped off with a good scattering of those irresistibe thin-candy shelled, creamy-chocolate centered Cadbury Mini Eggs.  It deserves to make the table every year.
*Let's talk about the folding of melted chocolate into whipped cream.  When I whip cream, I do it straight from the fridge.  This caused the chocolate to seize up when I tried to fold it in.  I went ahead and left it as it was.  Because I thought it looked kinda cool even though I was hoping for an actual chocolate-colored whipped cream.  Of course I thought about the fact that I probably could have just whipped it for a bit longer after adding the chocolate without doing any harm.  So I will try this next year.  And add an update to let you know if that solves the problem.  Or you could just try whipping room temperature cream, I suppose...

Oh!  I also wanted to note that I used semi-sweet chocolate in the cake pictured.  Nigella's called for dark chocolate, but since I had it, I wanted to use it.  I liked it, but I'm also going to try dark chocolate next go 'round.

Easter Egg Nest Cake

by Heather Schmitt-GonzƔlez
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert chocolate Easter cake spring

Ingredients (serves 8-10)
    FOR THE CAKE
    • 8 oz. chocolate (dark, semi-sweet, or milk), chopped
    • 4 oz. unsalted butter, softened
    • 6 eggs- 2 whole; 4 separated
    • 6 oz. superfine sugar, divided
    • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
    FOR THE TOPPING
    • 4 oz. chocolate (dark, semi-sweet, or milk), chopped
    • 8 oz. (1 c.) heavy cream
    • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
    • ~10 oz. Cadbury Mini Eggs (or other chocolate eggs with thin candy shell of your choice)
    Instructions
    Preheat the oven to 350°F.

    Line the bottom of a 9" springform tin with parchment paper or spray with pan spray, but do not grease the sides.

    for the cake:
    Melt the chocolate and butter in either a double boiler or a microwave and set aside to cool slightly.

    Whisk the 4 egg whites until thick and aerated, then gradually add 3½ oz. of sugar and whisk until the whites are holding their shape and are shiny, but not stiff.

    Set this bowl aside. In another bowl, whisk the 2 whole eggs and 4 yolks with 2½ oz. of sugar and the vanilla extract. Gently fold in the chocolate mixture.

    Lighten the mixture by stirring in a spoonful of the egg whites and then gently fold in the rest of the whites in three additions.

    Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the center no longer appears wobbly on the surface.

    Cool the cake in its tin on a wire rack. The middle will sink as it cools and the sides will splinter. This is a good thing - it's what makes it look a bit like a nest.

    To finish the cake, carefully remove it from the tin and place it on a plate or cake stand, not worrying if bits fall off here and there. Put them back in a loose fashion.

    for the topping:
    Melt the chocolate for the topping and leave it to cool a little.

    Whip the cream until it is forms soft peaks. Add the vanilla and fold in the melted chocolate. (note: When I folded in the melted chocolate, the cold cream caused it to seize up, resulting in a white cream with chocolate squiggles through it. You may want to try just adding the chocolate and whipping for a a bit longer to achieve a consistent "chocolate" color. It'll taste good whichever way you choose to do it.)

    Fill the crater of the cake with the chocolate whipped cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake with a rubber spatula.

    Arrange the little sugar Easter eggs on top.  This cake is best when eaten the same day that it is made.
    slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson
    Powered by Recipage
    I am sharing this post with:
    weekend cooking sweets for a saturday gallery of favorites

    Would you like to comment?

    1. Caite@a lovely shore brezeApril 7, 2012 at 6:00 PM

      I am a great fan of Nigella ...and I never met a chocolate I did not like, so I would love to try this. Even more, I just wish I had a piece right now.

      ReplyDelete
    2. Nigella is great, isn't she? I love this eggy cake. How pretty it'd be on the table and I bet kids of all ages would ooh and ahh. And then say yum!

      ReplyDelete
    3. Awesome!! What a great way to use Cadbury!

      ReplyDelete
    4. Gloriadelpilar_1994April 7, 2012 at 6:37 PM

      Look absolutely nice and georgeous!! Happy Easter!

      ReplyDelete
    5. That looks so good. I remember seeing a Nigella Christmas special and she made an awesome looking chocolate fudge. I should try and find that recipe in time to make it in December!

      ReplyDelete
    6. How is my favorite girlichef doing?! Thought I'd swing by to wish you and your family a Happy Easter. I'm back to blogging but have swayed from food blogging and just going theme-less for now. Hope all has been well in your world. Have a great weekend! :) 

      ReplyDelete
    7. What a pretty cake! Nigella is something else. Love watching her :).

      ReplyDelete
    8. It looks so pretty!!  I would be happy to eat it at your party.  :-)    I love how her 'parties' look too.

      ReplyDelete
    9. This looks like an excellent cake. I'd like to try it, somehow, without the Easter eggs. It looks like it would make a nice anytime cake. I'll give it a try.

      ReplyDelete
    10. Love it! Wish I woulda made one. :). It's a cool concept and I think it turned out great!

      ReplyDelete
    11. As long as it tastes good, who cares about looks! This really does look like a nest!

      ReplyDelete
    12. I like the chocolate "squiggles." I think they make it look more like a nest. :) It looks delightfully delicious, especially covered with those little eggs. Those things are addictive! 

      ReplyDelete
    13. This looks so good! Thanks for sharing it with us!

      ReplyDelete
    14. Hi Stranger!!  I'm so happy to hear from you. Happy Easter to you and  your family.  I will stop by to visit after the holiday madness has ended! =)

      ReplyDelete
    15. ThemadscientistskitchenApril 8, 2012 at 8:00 AM

      Wow Happy Ester to you!

      ReplyDelete
    16. Nigella strikes again. I did take a second look at this recipe since she is one of our Game Changers coming up.

      ReplyDelete
    17. egads! you just put my easter orange ginger carrot cake to shame! that looks divine!! I think I might need to make it post easter when those magnificent little eggs are on sale.  Ukrainian Easter is next week right? I'll just pretend I'm ukrainian!

      ReplyDelete
    18. What a cute Easter cake; I love it. Happy Easter to you and your family.
      Rita

      ReplyDelete
    19. So cute!!!Happy Easter ,Heather!

      ReplyDelete
    20. That looks flipping AMAZING. Definitely something I would make to impress someone!

      ReplyDelete
    21. I made this for Easter and all turned out well, but mine had a bottom layer of "gel.". Whatcou,d that have been?

      ReplyDelete
    22. Hmmm.  I'm not entirely sure.  My guess is some sort of separation of the egg??  Did it seemed cooked through?  Thinking along the lines of ovens varying, maybe the egg just didn't have enough time to set up? It does have a bit of a fudgy texture since it's flourless.  I'm sorry that I can't be of more help! And glad to hear that it was still edible.

      ReplyDelete
    23. Damn, you're talented!  I love Nigella...you two combining forces are unstoppable

      ReplyDelete
    24. Hey Heather-  I had to come back over to your blog and tell you - Elizabeth Andoh wrote the forward to "A Cook's Journey to Japan."  :)

      ReplyDelete
    25. Cool!! Thanks for the intro...my local library has it, so I placed a request to send it over to "my" branch! Can't wait :D

      ReplyDelete
    26. So cute!  This cake looks awesome! Hope you had a happy Easter!

      ReplyDelete
    27. What a fun looking cake. I'm a huge lover of Cadbury mini eggs too. 

      ReplyDelete
    28. Looks like something that would be really dangerous around here. I'll save this for next year!

      ReplyDelete
    29. Lovely! I need to put this on pinterest for next year :)

      ReplyDelete
    30. I would need to buy at least 2 bags of Cadbury mini eggs like 10 minutes before putting them on the cake. I cannot resist those things at all! ;-) I have seen this cake before and always thought about trying it too--it's so fun and festive. 

      ReplyDelete
    31. So glad to see you go back to Nigella.  I've been meaning to get some of her books back out.  This cake is way too cute, not to mention it really looks like it would satisfy any chocolate craving.  Love it!

      ReplyDelete
    32. Great looking cake! Looks delicious and festive! Love the eggs :)

      ReplyDelete
    33. I have always wanted to make this cake, love the crackled edges!!  thanks for the tips! 

      ReplyDelete
    34. Your Easter Cake looks lovely. I like the idea of using semi-sweet chocolate in it. Sometimes kids don't like the really dark kind - at least my 19 year old 'kid' doesn't :) I have the same problem you do with mini eggs - in fact I have a leftover bag calling my name right now...I wonder if you can make Easter cake after Easter...

      ReplyDelete