The iconic Portal cake may or may not have been a lie, but you won’t be left wanting to try it: In VidaExtra we are going to give you the recipe so you can prepare it at home. You won’t need the Portal Gun, the ingredients are yours and the apron and hat are optional. Of course, I can tell you in advance that if you have a sweet tooth and like chocolate, you will probably end up celebrating more than one birthday at the wrong time. And we’re not going to deny it, what better way to get it right with your most playful friends and family?
The origin of the Portal Cake… and the meme
The Cake of Portal It is possibly one of the biggest memes associated with Valve video games, and with good reason: without going into too much detail, the cake itself, as a concept, is a motivational tool with which the game itself invites us to complete the first stages of the video game. Who doesn’t fancy a cake?
From here on, technically the cake is Portal has two recipes: one that can be seen in the game itself, through the computer screens of the Aperture Labs, although with some license and omissions. The other, the truly interesting one, is the one that is cooked in The Regent Bakery & Café from Redmond.
The story told in short is that the creators of Portal They were inspired by the restaurant’s delicious Black Forest cake to shape and tempt players without suspecting that, not long after, it would end up becoming a meme and, at the same time, one of the unquestionable most iconic pastry works in the history of video games. So much so that the writer of the saga Erik Wolpaw decided omit its presence, although naming it briefly, because got tired of the pie jokes.
One of the computers at Aperture Labs showing the cake recipe
On the other hand, it’s worth noting that Portal Cake has been officially marketed for some time. Well, sort of: Gaya Entertainment offered fully licensed baking kits with some essential ingredients and the recipe on the back of the box. However, this is more of a collector’s item than something practical since, to be honest, it’s more practical and cost-effective to gather what you need and in the end we’ll have to bake it ourselves anyway.
Our recipe is based on what is seen in the kit, it uses the ingredients of DAP’s Black Forest and takes into account the presentation and original elements. However, there are many alternatives to this being a typical German confectionery delight. That said, if you want to prepare it in a simple way, it is best to hire a kitchen assistant: we will have to have several things being prepared simultaneously. Because not everything can be as simple as Sonic hot dogs.
Ingredients for Black Forest Gateau
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BLACK FOREST |
Difficulty: 4 / 5 |
For 10 diners |
Elaboration: 45 minutes |
Cooking: 1 hour |
Total time: less than 2 hours |
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How to prepare Portal cake step by step
Preparing the cake
- If we don’t have a kitchen helper, it’s best to start from the cake. The first step is preheat the oven to 175 ºC while we line two or three circular molds (depending on their height) with parchment paper and grease them with butter. While we let the oven heat up, we have to do several things.
- Tip 1: The Portal cake is tall, so we can be creative by using two tall molds or three or more molds that allow us to create several layers. Here you can make it however you think it will look best.
- We melt the chocolate in a bain-marie
- Meanwhile, prepare a bowl and mix the milk and white wine vinegar and let it sit for approximately 15 minutes. During this time, beat the butter with the sugar. Add the eggs and start beating for approximately three minutes until creamy.
- Add the chocolate (it should be melted by now) and finally add the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. When everything is well mixed, add the milk.
- Pour the cream into the molds that we prepared in the first step and leave them in the oven for about an hour until it acquires consistency.
- Tip 2: The trick to check if they are ready in the oven is a classic for beginners: prick them with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, it is time to take them out.
- Once ready, leave them on racks for approximately 15 minutes until they cool completely.
- We take the liquid cream to whip and beat it with the sugar until it acquires a little consistency. From there we place one of the discs as a base and spread the cream with the cherry liqueur (if desired) and then cover with another layer until it acquires the desired height.
How to make the filling and presentation of the cake
- Once we have the cake, with its different layers, We cover it evenly with the rest of the cream and preserving the original form as much as possible.
- Once the cake is covered, we create small cream bases on top to place the candied cherries in a spiral motion on each base. The authentic cake Portal has eight cherries and the one in the restaurant that Valve based it on has five, but we can accommodate the number of diners.
- From there, we spread the cocoa powder and the chocolate chips (if they are very large, they can be chopped) until the cake is covered on both the sides and the top, being careful to use the cream that we left to place the cherries.
- Finally, We crown the dessert by placing cherries on each cream base that we leave on top. If we want, we can reserve the central area for a candle like in the video game or some kind of decoration.
How to serve Portal cake (as GlaDOS would make it)
The measurements we used for the cake Portal They are for approximately ten diners, but in the end it all depends on the moulds, the height and, of course, the willingness to have seconds. In general, it is best to have at least one candied cherry, plus an extra one for each of our guests who we know will have seconds, which is very likely.
From there, the serving process is the same as for any other cake: place it on the table and divide it into pieces starting from the centre as a reference and, it is highly advisable, asking a little beforehand if you want a normal, larger or slightly smaller portion. There is no mystery.
However, while Black Forest cake is hearty and delicious in terms of flavour, you can always keep a few extra candied cherries nearby in case you need to make more divisions than expected, such as for those who particularly enjoy them or would rather not give in to temptation again.
