Flourless Chocolate Cake

I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend. As our Cake Monday falls the day after an abundance of eggs and chocolate, I thought I’d share the cake I made here for after Easter Sunday dinner.

Our hens are firing on all cylinders at the moment, so the eggs are being put to good use. This Flourless Chocolate Cake is light and mousse-like, so while it looks rich it really isn’t.

The nature of the cake is that it rises quite a lot while baking so when it comes out of the oven it nearly looks like a souffle. However, it quickly deflates so DON’T PANIC….this is supposed to happen! The sunken middle is the perfect vessel for whipped cream and berries - delicious.

I hope you enjoy the cake and the rest of your Easter holiday. Let me know how you get on if you decide to try the recipes.

Kela x

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 250g good quality dark chocolate
• 125g butter cubed
• 50ml strong coffee (espresso shot ideal)
• 4 large free range eggs, seperated
• 120g soft brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• Whipped cream & berries to serve

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 170C fan. Grease & line the base and sides of a 21cm springform cake tin.
2. Bring a pan of water to simmer and in a metal bowl put the chocolate, butter and coffee. Put the bowl over the pot of lightly simmering water, stirring until the ingredients have melted and are smooth. Remove the bowl to the side to allow cool slightly.
3. In a seperate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 60g of the brown sugar until thick and pale. Fold this with the sifted cocoa powder into the melted chocolate / butter mixture.
4. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gradually add the remaining brown sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well between each addition. They should become thick, glossy and have a light brown colour.
5. Add one third of the whisked egg whites to the chocolate mixture, folding in gently to loosen the mix. Add the remaining egg whites, folding gently with a spatula or large metal spoon until all the egg whites are combined. Try not to over mix or you may knock the air out of the mixture.
6. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake on the middle shelf of the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes. The cake will rise high but still retain a little wobble in the middle.
7. Remove to a wire rack to cool. It will deflate - THIS IS NORMAL! You can eat the cake at room temperature which gives it a lighter texture. If you chill in the fridge you can create a denser texture, giving you a more fudge-like cake. Both are delicious ;-)