A must-try recipe from baker Shivesh Bhatia’s new chocolate dessert cookbook

As I see my fifth cookbook come to life, I can’t help but think about how my relationship with desserts and baking has evolved over the years. What started as a “happy accident” in high school turned into a passion as I completed my undergraduate studies and became a full-time profession about seven years ago. Now I’m obsessed with it and it’s become an important and irreplaceable part of my life. Even though so much has changed over the years, what has remained a constant part of my journey is chocolate! From the first batch of chocolate (brûlée) cupcakes I made with my cousins using a boxed pre-mix to currently writing an entire cookbook with 100 chocolate recipes, my pastry course was largely inspired by chocolate.

I think it’s because chocolate does exactly what I’ve always aspired to achieve with my baking: bring pure joy and happiness. Chocolate also has the ability to bring everyone together – a crowd-pleaser like no other ingredient! This is probably why it is associated with special occasions and celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries. The Black Forest cake that I cut with my twin sister for most of our birthdays growing up, the decadent chocolate tea cake that my grandmother would make simply to celebrate our visit, or the tub of chocolate ice cream that we passed around while watching a movie with my cousins – chocolate made every happy occasion happier and every difficult moment slightly better.

Another thing that transcends the ordinary about chocolate is its versatility. You pair it with absolutely anything and it will create magic. In this book you will find dark chocolate combined with pistachios in a delicious chocolate cookie filled with pistachio butter. Milk chocolate pairs wonderfully with bananas and honeycomb in a giant swirl cake. White chocolate accompanied by lemons and berries in macaroons and tartlets, and ruby chocolate with matcha in cookies. I hope these 100 recipes and combinations will also inspire you to experiment in your kitchen and fall in love with chocolate, more than you already do.

This checkered chocolate and pistachio cake is so fun and is the perfect recipe to try when you’re feeling like a little challenge in the kitchen. I’ve always loved marble cakes but I love this one a little more!

Chocolate and pistachio checkerboard cake

Makes one 8 x 4 inch loaf

For the cake

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 cup of yogurt

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup powdered sugar

½ cup oil, plus extra

For lubrication

2 tablespoons of milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

¼ cup blitzed pistachios

3 tablespoons of cocoa powder

For the ganache

1 cup of crème fraîche

2 cups of milk chocolate,

For the garnish

¼ cup chopped pistachios

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease two 8×4-inch pans with oil and line with parchment paper.
To make the cake, mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, mix the yogurt and baking soda and let foam.
Whisk the powdered sugar and oil in another bowl until pale and well blended. Add the yogurt mixture, milk and vanilla extract, mixing well after each addition.
Gently fold in the dry ingredients, mixing until everything is well combined and there are no large pockets of flour in the dough. Do not overmix at this stage.
Divide the dough equally into two parts, into separate bowls.
In one part, add the blended pistachios and fold until combined.
To the other part, add the cocoa powder and fold until well combined.
Transfer these batters to the two separate loaf pans and bake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before unmolding them.
To make the ganache, pour the cream into a saucepan and place it over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate.
Let the mixture sit for a minute to allow the chocolate to melt, then stir until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate the ganache for 1 to 2 hours or until firm and completely set.
To assemble the cake, cut the dome-shaped tops off the cakes and make sure both cakes are the same height.
Cut the cakes in half lengthwise. You will have two logs of chocolate cake and two logs of pistachio cake.
Stick a log of chocolate cake on the pistachio cake using a thin layer of ganache.
Cover the top with another thin layer of ganache and place the other two cake logs on top, alternating colors.
Cover the cake with ganache on the top and sides and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour and garnish with chopped pistachios on top before slicing.

Excerpted with permission from Chocolate: 100 Irresistible Desserts, Shivesh Bhatia, HarperCollins India.