Andy's Chocolate-Filled Angel Food Cake

Instructions

1. In a medium metal mixing bowl, whisk together whipping cream, cocoa, sugar, and salt. 

2. Chill the mixture for 1 hour. While cream is chilling, lightly toast the blanched slivered almonds in a skillet over medium heat till golden and fragrant. Reserve.

3. Take a room temperature chocolate bar and turn it so the thin edge is facing upward. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the chocolate bar into thin shavings. Shave the bar about halfway down.

4. Chop the chocolate shavings into small pieces, about the same size as the slivered almonds. Reserve. If it's a hot day, store them in the refrigerator to keep them from softening or melting.

5. When the cream is chilled, before you take it out of the refrigerator, place your angel food cake on a serving plate.

6. Slice the cake in half horizontally and remove the top half of the cake, so that you have two rings of cake.

7. Run a knife around the bottom half of the cake, cutting a ring about 1/2 inch from the edge (wall) of the cake. The knife should cut in no further then 1/2 inch from the bottom of the cake.

8. Cut another ring about 1/2 inch from the center edge (hole) of the cake. Again, the knife should cut in no further then 1/2 inch from the bottom of the cake.

9. Scoop out the middle of the cake, between the two cut lines, to create a cavity ring all the way around the cake. Feel free to nibble on the cake pieces that you scooped out-- chef's treat. I won't tell.

10. Take the chilled cream mixture out of the refrigerator. Whip it with an electric mixer till stiff peaks form and the mixture is spreadable, but still smooth.

11. Fill the cavity in the angel food cake with the chocolate whipped cream to create a filling for the cake.

12. Sprinkle the cream filling with a thin layer of the almonds.

13. Replace the top of the cake.