Wanted to create a special recipe this season and these mini chocolate cakes with delicious cinnamon cream came to my mind like miniature presents for the loved ones. They also have a nice surprise inside, you can discover it in the recipe below, and if you also want to enjoy our little video for this recipe you can watch it here.

Ingredients for the base of mini chocolate cakes:

145 g flour type 000

30g cocoa

90g almond flour

8g baking powder

A pinch of salt

145g of heavy cream

5 eggs

150g of sugar

80g dark chocolate

140g of butter

Zest of an orange

2-3 tablespoons of dulce de leche (optional, can be replaced with Nutella)

For the chocolate coating:

400g dark chocolate 52%

60ml olive oil

4-5 tablespoons of coarsely chopped walnuts

For the cinnamon cream:

500g Hochland mascarpone

2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream

2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar

One tablespoon cinnamon

Optional for decoration: kumquat slices and rosemary sprigs given through sugar syrup and sugar

For the topping, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and sift them (flour, cocoa, almond flour, baking powder and salt). In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and grated orange peel using a whisk. Melt the 80 grams of chocolate in a bain-marie, melt the butter separately.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix gently with a whisk, then add the melted chocolate, butter and heavy cream and mix well. Pour the mixture into a 22-23 cm square pan lined with butter and baking sheet on the bottom of the pan and with butter and cocoa on the sides. Bake it at 150 degrees Celsius for 50 min or until it passes the toothpick test.

Once the top is baked leave it to cool completely in the pan, when it has cooled you can remove it using a knife to gently loosen the edges. Cut the dough into suitable cubes, level and remove the excess parts. Steam melt the 400g of chocolate, once melted take the chocolate off the heat and add the oil, mix until it is incorporated. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly then add the chopped walnuts, transfer the chocolate and walnut mixture to a deep bowl, preferably a glass or a mug in which you can dip the dough cubes.

Prick each cube with a knife and dip lightly into the chocolate, don’t dip completely, keep the top side uncovered, transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper and gently wipe each cube from the baking paper to level it. For the cream, beat the mascarpone with the mixer at very low speed with the powdered sugar and cinnamon, and if the texture is too solid, gradually add the liquid whipped/heavy cream until you get an easy-to-poche texture. Make a tiny hole in the middle of each cube, then poke dulce de leche or nutella inside each cube, and on top of each tiny cake poach mascarpone cream and decorate as you like. Store the cakes in the refrigerator in closed containers with lids to keep the mascarpone cream looking as fresh as possible.