Chocolate cake with cream cheese

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 7 eggs
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 7 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the cream

• 300 g cream cheese
• 100 ml whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

For decorating

• 100 g dark chocolate
• 50 ml whipping cream
• 500 ml water

Preparation

1. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites with the salt until fluffy and tripled in volume, then gradually add the sugar and keep beating until glossy. 2. Mix the egg yolks with the oil. Gradually pour the mixture into the egg whites, folding gently, then fold in the flour sifted with the baking powder. 3. Pour the batter into a 30 x 30 cm square pan lined with baking paper. Bake at 180°C for 25 minutes, until the sponge is golden and a toothpick comes out clean. 4. Leave the sponge to cool a little in the pan, then transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut out three circles of the same size, about 15 cm across. 5. Beat the cream cheese with 100 ml whipping cream and the powdered sugar for 2-3 minutes, until you have a thick cream. 6. Set one sponge layer on a serving plate, spread some of the half of the cream set aside for the filling over it, then add the second layer and the rest of that same half. Finish with the third layer and cover the outside of the cake with the remaining cream. Refrigerate it while you melt the chocolate. 7. Put the chocolate and 50 ml whipping cream in a bowl set over a saucepan containing 500 ml water. Melt them over a bain-marie, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the glaze is creamy. 8. Decorate the cake with the melted chocolate, then refrigerate it for at least 5 hours before serving.