Easter Egg Nest Cake

I made this last weekend and, like one reviewer, ended up with speckled frosting, not acceptable for my Gourmet group dinner. I tried again, remembering something from the M. Bittman book on baking -- before folding to lighten the heavier component with the lighter component. So I folded some whipped cream into the warm melted chocolate before folding in the rest; result = no speckles! Thank you, Mark Bittman! I may become something of a baker after all!

The instructions for the topping do not work- you need to chop up the chocolate into small pieces, put them in a bowl. Then bring the cream to a gentle boil, pour over the chocolate and let stand for a minute. Stir until blended, refrigerate ( overnight is best) then whip it up! This way the chocolate melts, the other way it just hardens in streaks when added to the whipped cream.

This my go to Easter cake, but it can be an anything cake... just change the eggs to cocoa almonds , chocolate shards or just about any thing. Leave the whipped cream plain and vanilla flavored too, and add sprinkles or edible flowers. Everyone is surprised and delighted by this cake.

Line your round pan with parchment paper cut to fit. When cake is out of oven, let it cool for 10 min. Run a sharp knife around rim. When cake is totally cooled, invert onto a round cake board or plate, peel off parchment, and invert again onto another cake board or plate to go right side up. You don't need a spring form pan. I do this with cheesecake too.

For those of you who have no patience (me), melt the chocolate, let it cool for 10 mins, combine with am additional 1/4 cup heavy cream, like fully combine. It will look like deluxe chocolate pudding when you're done. Then fold that mix together with the whip per instructions. No wait. No refrigeration. No hassle. Just nice, smooth, chocolatey whip. So good. Thank you Ms Lawson :)

Frosting terrible! Cake delicious.
Cooled chocolate would not mix with whipped cream.
Made a second batch with my standby recipe for whipped cream frosting. One cup of heavy cream, 3 Tbls unsweetened cocoa and 1/3 cup of sugar. Excellent.

If you are making this ahead, do you put it in the fridge? Also, is the topping better made just before serving? And, sadly, I should mention that I neglected to spray the sides with baking spray so now it's sticking. Wish there had been some mention of this in the recipe.

But it does smell delicious!

This is the recipe that Nigella developed for The Times back in 2003 for this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/16/dining/at-my-table-easter-lunch-withou... We haven't changed it, but it's possible Nigella made some changes for the version on her website. I think our version probably works best with a milder, sweeter chocolate i.e. 60% or <.

others struggled with the chocolate and whipped cream, but I let the chocolate cool a bit first and it mixed with the cream easily- excellent.

I made this for my husband's birthday and added a splash of bourbon instead of vanilla to the whipped cream. I also used raspberries instead of candy eggs and it was really good! The cake was mousse-like and the raspberries actually helped cut the richness. Definitely a re-make!

Do you think these would work as cupcakes aka many small nests instead of one large?

Made this for Easter dinner dessert. Everyone loved it. Light yet rich chocolate flavor. I made the cake a day ahead and left it out and in the pan - no problem. I let the melted chocolate cool a bit before adding to the whipped heavy cream. The two mixed beautifully. My finished cake looked exactly like the picture. I will make this again.

Made this the day before Easter, refrigerated overnight. It was a hit. Next time I might make the cake ahead, but make the topping and decorate the day of--if you use Cadbury Mini Eggs, as pictured in the recipe photo, they lose all color when refrigerated overnight. I, too, had the "speckled topping" problem, despite following the Bittman tip listed below. But because this is a ~rustic~ cake, the inconsistency in color didn't really matter or make it any less tasty. A keeper.

I made this for Easter. It was beautiful and delicious! I made the cake a day ahead. Baked at 325 in convection oven. Followed suggestion to add 1/4 cup cream to cooled melted chocolate and THEN add that to the whipped cream. I got the dreaded speckles at first but as I continued to fold, they all blended in so my cake looked just like the photo. Thanks for a great recipe!

Wonderful! Luscious chocolate cake topped with chocolate mousse. To avoid problems other people had, take your time and let things cool. Let the melted chocolate cool before stirring it into the batter. Let the other batch of melted chocolate cool before folding it into the whipped cream. Let the cake completely cool before topping it with the whipped cream. This will become my new signature dessert.