Santa Split in Two at the Chimney

It's up to you.

11 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Preparing the mold

   Heat the oven to 170 °C in conventional oven setting (no fan). Tape the mold 24 x 20 cm of baking paper keeping two tabs for demoulding. Weigh 100 g of chocolate for the cake and 160 g for the ganache; keeps cream, marzipan, jam and icing sugar apart.

2. Melt the chocolate

   Put 100 g of chocolate and 150 g of butter in a saucepan. Heat to very low heat while stirring, then remove from heat as soon as the mixture is smooth. Leave to cool for 5 minutes: it should no longer be hot.

3. Mix the dough

   Break the 4 eggs one by one in a bowl to remove the shells, then pour them into the bowl with the 150 g of sugar. 1 minute, add the warm chocolate and then the 120 g of flour mixed with the 5 g of baking powder. Mix just enough to see no more flour.

4. Cook and cool

   Pour into the pan, equalize and bake 25 to 30 minutes. A blade planted in the center must come out with a few crumbs but without liquid paste. Place the mold on a wire rack, wait 20 minutes, then lift with the paper. Let cool for another 70 minutes.

5. Making the ganache

   Heat the 100 g of cream until the first bubbles. Pour over the remaining 160 g of chopped chocolate, wait 2 minutes and stir from the center to the edges. Leave to thicken for 30 to 45 minutes in a cool room, then in the refrigerator for 5 minutes if necessary, until a texture of spread that fits on the spatula.

6. Cut a flat Santa

   In the cold cake, cut a torso of 12 x 10 cm, rounding off the two shoulders, a bottom of 10 x 10 cm split by 5 cm for two legs and a round head of 6 cm. In the band remained free, cut two arms of 7 x 3 cm with rounded ends and two squares of 6 x 6 cm for the fireplace. Keep the offcuts in rubble. Lay arms, head and body flat: no element stands.

7. Dress in red

   Spread the 220 g of red marzipan between two sheets of paper over 2 mm. Enduise your torso, legs and arms with a thin layer of ganache; cover your torso and legs with about 150 g of red paste, both arms with 40 g, then cut out a small triangular cap in the remaining 30 g. Simply fold the edges; sculpts neither clothing nor fine folds.

8. Add beard and boots

   Flattened 25 g of disc white paste on the head and 25 g beard with three large ripples at the edge, made with the back of a spoon. Use 25 g in strips for both wrists, lower legs and cap; roll the remaining 5 g in small round nose. Stick it all to the ganache. Add two ganache points for the eyes, then cover the ends of the ganache arms and legs for very simple mittens and boots. Place the arms against the shoulders, in full support on the flat.

9. Assemble the collapsed chimney

   Glue the two 6 cm cake squares with a little ganache and put them on the back of the dish. Coat with ganache, then draw a few large lines of bricks with the back of a knife. Place the offcuts around them like rubble; keep the height at 6 cm maximum.

10. Stage the Fracture

    Lay the torso and head inclined against the chimney, with the two arms spread flat. Place the legs 4 cm further in the same axis. Slightly parch the edges of the cake at the waist to let see the chocolate crumb. Spread the 180 g of jam: 50 g in each break and 80 g in long drag between the halves and then towards the front of the dish. The jam should remain thick and pastry.

11. Snowing and serving

    Saupowder the 20 g of icing sugar on the fireplace and dish, avoiding red jam. Place 30 minutes in the cool before moving the dish. Cut the portions directly onto the dish to keep the scene in place.