Moringotto Cake
This recipe is for @tolkien-food-week - Day 2: Breads and Cakes / Númenor
Now also available on Ao3 here
Gluten free, and lactose free when using only olive oil instead of butter.
I might try to adapt a vegan version with aquafaba instead of eggs some time.
Some long-winded rambling before the recipe, because Melkor wishes it so. It makes people angry, therefore he is happy.
The idea for this cake (which became my namesake) was conceived after reading the most excellent Silvergifting fic Lightbearer by @elennalore
Here I was first introduced to Melkor's Quenya name as the Black Enemy: Moringotto. My foodie brain instantly went to the image of a very dense, highly chocolatey Italian cake covered in a generous dusting of icing sugar.
This is my personal take on the italian specialty, Torta Caprese. My recipe substitutes olive oil for some or all of the butter. The taste is heartier, and therefore more Moringotto.
I have now served this delicious chocolate sin to friends and family, and they all loved the chocolatey decadence it offers.
And what has this got to do with Númenor, you may ask? Well, Mairon loved to serve this delicious treat to Ar-Pharazôn as a token of Melkor's culinary powers.
The Actual Recipe, Finally!
Ingredients
Yields 10 Slices
Pan size: 25 cm or 10 inches (I use a cast iron pan, it gives more angs for the bangs)
Baking parchment, cut out to fit into the base of your pan.
170 g Dark chocolate (85 % for extra chocolatey results)
70g Butter
~ 50 ml of Olive oil*
125g Ground almond meal. For a more crunchy result, I use 3/4 whole nut (a little rougher ground) meal with skins, 1/4 fine almond meal from peeled almonds. Your mileage may vary.
15g Tablespoons black unsweetened cocoa powder (This comes in 15 g sachets here in Germany, it's black and not your usual cocoa. If you cannot get a hold of it, regular unsweetened cocoa powder will do.)
1 Tablespoon of Smoky Whisky or other spirit of choice (optional)
0.50 Teaspoon salt, I use Maldon sea salt like a snob
1 Pinch of hot chili or pepper powder for some extra fire (Optional)
4 Large eggs, at room temperature (If I have smaller egs, I use one more for good measure)
150g White sugar
Method (to this Madness)
Preheat the oven to about 170 degrees Celcius and cover your pan with butter or olive oil. Then go ahead and put the aforementioned round piece of baking parchment in the bottom. It will stick niceley. I like to add a smothering of more oil or butter over the parchment. For good luck. And then I dust the insides of the pan with regular cocoa powder and put it to one side until the dough is ready to pour in.
Place the chocolate and your butter/olive oil in a heat-proof bowl and place over a pan of simmering water to slowly melt on the stove. (Alternative: Microwave at 400 watts for about 4 mins)
Remove from heat, and enjoy stirring the molten chocolate and fats together. It's a delicate process, take your time. The result should be silky-smooth.
Then fold in in the almond meal, cocoa powder, spirit of choice, salt, and cayenne pepper until fully combined. Set to one side.
Mix eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl, and beat (electric or by hand) until very thick and pale colored. (The manual beating method is a good workout to burn calories before piling them on again.)
Gently pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Now gently combine both with a spatula or large spoon, until you have a smooth dark brown cake dough. This step requires careful patience, Melkor will ask Mairon to help him here.
Now it's time to transfer you cake dough into the prepared pan. Before your work goes into the oven, tap the pan on the counter a few times, to settle everything niceley.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 - 30 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or a knife of your choice inserted near the center comes out almost clean. Caution: If you are using a higher and more narrow pan, your cake needs more baking time!
When it is ready, let the cake cool for 30 minutes in the pan before turning it over onto a plate.
Cool off to room temperature. The cake tastes best when served cool, so wrap it up accodingly and place in the fridge before serving. This also works well overnight, when you wish to pre-prepare you cake.
Before cutting, dust the top with icing sugar/powdered sugar, if you like. Moringotto cake tastes good with fresh fruit, I like blackberries.
*Addendum: Conversion Chart for Substituting Olive Oil With Butter
Butter (g) Olive Oil (mL)
100 g - 78 ml 200 g - 156 ml 300 g - 234 ml 400 g - 312 ml 500 g - 390 ml 600 g - 468 ml 700 g - 546 ml 800 g - 624 ml 900 g - 702 ml 1000 g - 780 ml