FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
INGREDIENTS
- 250g soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 100g roasted chopped hazelnuts
- 365g light brown muscovado sugar
- 300g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 50g ground almonds
- 85g cocoa powder
- 6 large eggs, lightly whisked
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla pod, split and
- seeds scraped out,
- 1 heaped tsp sea salt
- 190g fresh raspberries, to serve
Instruction
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas Mark 4.
2. Grease and line the sides and bottom of a 23cm
loose-bottomed cake tin.
3. Grind the hazelnuts with 1 tsp of the sugar in a
small food processor to a fine powder.
4. Gently melt the butter and chocolate in a large
bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove
from the heat and stir to combine. Add the
sugar, gently whisk until there are no lumps,
then fold in the ground almonds and hazelnuts, and cocoa powder. Gradually add the eggs,
vanilla paste, and salt, giving it all a good stir.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in
the oven for 35 minutes. Remove and leave to
cool for 20 minutes in the tin before carefully
removing from the tin to cool.
6. Top with fresh raspberries. Serve in slivers with
a dollop of Creme Fraiche, if you like, and espresso or glass of amaretto on the side.
Instruction
1. Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray
three 6-inch round cake pans (or two 8 inch
pans) with baking spray and line bottoms with
parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the
eggs, sugar, and vanilla until it has tripled in
volume - about 10 minutes. The mixture should be
thick, creamy, and pale. Add the lemon zest.
3. Sift the flour and salt (preferably three times)
into a separate bowl or a large parchment paper
on the counter. Stir into a stand mixer using a
plastic or metal spoon, preferably in batches.
4. Add the melted butter and gently fold it into the
cake batter mix.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and
gently smooth the tops. Tap the cake pans on the
counter to remove any air bubbles.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 21-25 minutes or
until the sponges are evenly golden and come
away from the sides of the baking pans.
7. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10
minutes. After 10 minutes, turn them onto the
wire rack carefully and allow the cakes to cool
completely.
8.
Meanwhile, make the whipped cream: In a
small pan, combine gelatin and cold water and
allow sitting for 5 minutes until thick. Place over
low heat, stirring constantly, just until the
gelatin dissolves.
9. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
(but do not let it set).
10. Using a stand mixer, whip the heavy cream with
the icing sugar until soft peaks form.
11. While slowly beating, add the gelatin to the
whipping cream. Whip at high speed until stiff
peaks form.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
1. Place your first layer of cake on top of a
cardboard circle, serving plate, or cake stand.
2. Spoon a generous layer of whipped cream and
spread evenly using an offset spatula.
3. Place an even layer of sliced strawberries and
berries on top of the whipped cream.
4. Add the second layer of cake and repeat until all
of the layers are on the cake.
5. For the top layer, spread on with a generous
layer of whipped cream and spread evenly using
an offset spatula.
6. Garnish with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and
blackberries. Dust with powdered sugar.