No-bake Charlotte Cake – Keke Hāriata Kore-tunu
Do you want a stand out purini (dessert) that blows everyone away with its beauty but you don’t actually turn the oven on? Tau kē (awesome), I have got you covered. I made this recipe a couple of years back, inspired from a similar cake I made when I was a contestant on The Great Kiwi Bake Off. During our challenge we had to make everything from scratch, including the lady fingers. They are actually super delicious homemade but I know not everyone wants to go that far. Nō reira (so), here is my Keke Hāriata (Charlotte Cake) that has lady fingers around the edge. We soak the ends of the fingers in Doris Plum Juice (or you could use canned boysenberry juice) and they act as the base. A tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate) is the bottom layer and a tiakarete miraka (milk chocolate) mousse create the top of the keke (cake). We top the mousse with paramu kua penupenua (mashed Doris plums) or poihanapere (boysenberries) and layer hua (berries) on top! Karawhuia e hoa mā – go for it friends, you won’t regret it!
No-bake Charlotte Cake – Keke Hāriata Kore-tunu
A doubled layered chocolate mousse cake wrapped in lady fingers, complimented with flavours of fresh berries. A great Christmas dessert or a cake for any celebration!
Servings 12 servings
Ingredients
The Lady Fingers – Ngā Matimati Kōpunga
- 200 g matimati kōpunga (sponge fingers, lady fingers)
- 1 kēna (can) 425 g paramu pango (black Doris plums, from) You can also swap this for a can of boysenberries.
The Dark Chocolate Layer – Te Paparanga Tiakarete Parauri
- 3 tbsp wai (water)
- 1 tsp paura tetepe (gelatine powder, I use Mrs Rogers)
- 150 g tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate, 60% is best)
- ⅓ C miraka (milk)
The Cream – Te Kirīmi
- 250 g kirīmi tepe (creme fraiche)
- 435 ml (1 ¾ C) kirīmi (cream)
- ¾ C puehu huka (icing sugar)
- 1 tbsp wanira (vanilla)
The Milk Chocolate Layer – Te Paparanga Tiakarete Miraka
- 1 tsp paura tetepe (gelatine powder)
- 3 tbsp wai (water)
- 150 g tiakarete miraka (milk chocolate, 33%)
- ⅓ C miraka (milk)
The Decorations – Ngā Whakarākei
- 8 paramu (plums from the can) or the poihanapere (boysenberries) from the can.
- Kiri ārani (orange zest, of ½ an orange)
- 250 g rōpere (strawberries, optional)
- 100 g parakipere (blackberries, optional)
- 100 g tūturu (blueberries, optional)
- Handful of micro basil (optional)
Instructions
The Lady Fingers – Ngā Matimati Kōpunga
- Cut 2 cm off each matimati kōpunga (sponge fingers). Leave the small pieces to the side. Line a 20 cm, loose base cake tin, 7 cm high with the lady fingers. Place the cut side on the base, and the sugar side against the tin.
- You will have a few matimati kōpunga (sponge fingers) left over. Cut them in to small pieces too.
- Pour around ½ cup of juice from the paramu (plums) or poihanapere (boysenberries) into a small bowl. Reserve the fruit for later. Soak the lady finger pieces in the juice for 5 seconds and place them in the base of the cake tin. Add the juice until all the pieces are soft and smoochy. Smooth them out with the back of your spoon. Leave to the side.
The Dark Chocolate Layer – Te Paparanga Tiakarete Parauri
- Add the wai (water) in to a small bowl. Sprinkle over the paura tetepe (gelatine powder) and stir. Leave to bloom.
- Add 3 cm of wai (water) in to pot and heat over low heat. Add the tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate) and miraka (milk) in to a heat proof bowl that is wider than your pot. Add the bowl on to the pot and melt the tiakarete (chocolate), stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature for 5 minutes.
- Melt the bloomed gelatine in the microwave fro 20 seconds in the microwave. Cool for 5 minutes, then stir it in to the melted tiakarete (chocolate). Allow to cool as you make the kirīmi (cream).
The Cream – Te Kirīmi
- Add the kirīmi tepe (creme fraiche), kirīmi (cream), puehu huka (icing sugar) and wanira (vanilla) in to a bowl. Whip until thick.
- Divide this kirīmi in to three parts. ½ cup is reserved for the topping, leave it in the fridge until needed. Split the remaining kirīmi (cream) in to two. Half (around 2 cups) is set aside for the milk chocolate layer. Refrigerate.To the remaining 2 cups of kirīmi (cream), fold through the tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate) mixture. Add it in 3 parts, folding after each addition.
- Pour it in to the prepared cake tin. Chill for 45 minutes.
The Milk Chocolate Layer – Te Paparanga Tiakarete Miraka
- Once chilled, prepare the paparanga tiakarete miraka (milk chocolate layer).
- Add the wai (water) in to a small bowl. Sprinkle over the paura tetepe (gelatine powder) and stir. Leave to bloom.
- Add the tiakarete milk (milk chocolate) and miraka (milk) in to a heat proof bowl. Melt it as you did with the dark chocolate, stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
- Melt the bloomed gelatine in the microwave fro 20 seconds in the microwave. Cool for 5 minutes, then stir it in to the melted tiakarete (chocolate).
- Once this mixture is room temperature, fold it through the reserved 2 C kirīmi (cream). Add the chocolate in 3 parts, folding after each addition. Please note: This layer in the video was a disaster! It should not look runny like that so
- Chill for at least 4 hours or you can have this in the fridge for up to 5 days before serving. Before you are ready to serve, prepare the toppings!
The Decorations – Ngā Whakarākei
- Remove the stones from the paramu (plums). Mash the paramu (plums) or poihanapere (boysenberries) in a small bowl. Add the kiri ārani (orange zest) Stir. Take the chilled cake out of the fridge. Wrap it in a ribbon of your choosing. Add it a serving plate (I keep it on the cake tin base to serve).
- Spread the left over ½ cup kirīmi on to the top of the set cake. Add the paramu (plums) or poihanapere (boysenberries). Arrange the rōpere (strawberries) around the edge. Add the tūrutu (blueberries) in the middle. Adorn with pāhiri (basil) if you are using it.
- Present it to your manuhiri (guests) and listen to the wow's!
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