Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Tear or cut off 15 sheets of parchment paper at least 25cm (10inches) wide. Use a pencil to trace around the bottom of a 23cm (9inch) cake tin onto the back of each parchment sheet. Set aside.
2. To make the biscuits, sift together 200g flour and cinnamon, then whisk in sugar. Add the eggs, butter and salt then beat with an electric mixer until mixture is light in colour, about 3 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the remaining flour and mix just until combined and you’re left with a soft dough.
3. Line 2 baking trays with 2 of the prepared parchment paper sheets, pencil side down. Spread a scant 1/3 of a cup (80ml) of dough thinly and evenly in each circle almost to the edges. Bake in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.
4. Remove from oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before removing from the baking tray and leaving layers to cool completely on wire racks, still on the parchment paper.
5. If you have more than 2 baking trays, continue spreading dough onto prepared parchment sheets while other layers are baking. Having 4-6 trays is best. But if you only have 2 baking trays, wait until trays are completely cool before using to make more layers as directed above.
6. Continue making layers until you’ve done all 15. Leave layers to cool completely before stacking.
7. For the filling, combine cream, cocoa powder and sugar in a large bowl. Start whipping on slowly then increase speed to medium, to avoid splashing, until soft peaks form. Do not over-whip!
8. To assemble, drop a tablespoon of the whipped cream onto a serving plate, then carefully peel away parchment paper from one of the biscuits and place on top of the whipped cream, this will stop the layer from sliding around. Spread 1/2 cup (125ml) of the whipped cream onto the biscuit with a palette knife or back of a spoon, then carefully place another biscuit on top. Continue until all the biscuit layers are stacked with whipped cream in between each one.
9. To decorate, spread remaining cream on top of the torte, then pile with chocolate curls. To make it even more special, sprinkle with edible gold lustre dust and gold edible stars (available in cake supply stores). You could also add a few cocoa dusted truffles nestled between the chocolate curls.
10. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving to give the biscuits time to soften. Serve chilled. Will keep for about 2 days refrigerated.
11. Biscuits can be prepared up to a week ahead of time. After baking and leaving biscuits to cool completely, carefully stack layers still on parchment (you can roughly trim off excess paper), and store in 1 or 2 airtight containers in a cool place until you’re ready to assemble. You can assemble the cake up to a day ahead of time, but a minimum of 3 hours ahead of serving.