One of the most beloved Belgian cakes of all times! You might be delighted to taste a piece at children’s birthday party, teenage get together or simply find it in the local store. The Belgians love their petit beurre cake and with a good reason. Tasty aromatic biscuits, soaked in coffee and cognac are layered with coffee flavoured crème au beurre and topped with chocolate mirror glaze. Delicious! It is as easy to make as a child’s play. Give yourself the pleasure to enjoy it or simply gather the kids at home and let them have a go. The result will make everyone happy, reaching out for more.

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 250ml coffee (cold)
• 1 tbsp cognac
• 250g powder sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ tsp instant coffee Expresso
• 300g butter, softened on room temperature
• 38 (300g) petit-beurre cookies

For the chocolate mirror glaze:

• 2/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup cream
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp white sugar
• 3 gelatine leaves

Method

1. Make a big cup of coffee. Let the coffee cool in an oven dish or large mixing bowl. Add a splash of cognac.

2. Place the powder sugar and eggs in the mixing bowl. Beat both ingredients until smooth and foamy.

3. Brew a small cup of extra strong coffee. Use instant coffee for this.

4. Cut the soft butter into cubes. Beat the butter little by little into the egg-sugar mixture. Add a spoonful of the strong coffee. Beat well until you get a smooth buttercream.

5. Place a layer of dry biscuits on a serving dish for a crispy bottom. Spread a layer of crème au beurre on top. Then build another layer of cookies, but dip them first in the baking dish with cooled coffee. Spread another layer of butter cream on top. Repeat these steps until you have a nice stacked cake. Brush the sides of the cake with the butter mixture as well. Let the petit beurre cake rest for an hour in the fridge.

6. In the meantime, place cold water and the gelatine leaves in a small bowl. Leave for 5 minutes. Place cocoa and water in a medium saucepan then mix until virtually lump-free. Add a splash of cream to the cocoa mix and stir. It will loosen up. Add remaining cream and sugar, then gently continue to mix to combine. Turn stove onto medium high heat. As soon as it comes to the boil, remove from the stove. Add the gelatine leaves, then stir until they dissolve and you have a smooth glossy glaze. Cool on the counter for 2 hours. Just before pouring over the cake, strain the glaze into a jug.

7. Remove the cake from the fridge, transfer onto a rack. Starting at the end of the cake, pour the glaze on, moving towards the other end of the cake, to make the glaze spread across the surface and drape like curtain down the sides. For the most perfect surface, try to do it in one motion without breaking the pour. Ensure all sides are fully coated – if not, quickly do a little pour down the sides to coat the naked patches. Let the mirror glaze set for around 10 minutes, before moving the cake to a cake platter. Leave in the fridge overnight then serve.