Easy Sunday Lunch – Part 2. Nigel Slater’s Chocolate Cake

This is the dessert bit of my easy Sunday lunch – actually it is reasonably fiddly but only because of the whisking up of egg whites part!  The reason I like it is because in my opinion chocolate cake only improves with age (within reason!) and so make it the day before and then you can forget all about it until you serve it.  I seem to be attracted to cake recipes that contain ground almonds lately and this one also has them, so just be careful of people with nut allergies!   Nigel grinds his own but we can buy them here very easily so I don’t feel the need to.  Also, don’t overcook the cake if you think it is too wobbly – l didn’t trust my instincts and mine, though yummy, was a tiny bit too firm – it should be slightly squidgy in the centre.   Anyhow, there were no complaints.

You can serve this however you like – I had some homemade strawberry and raspberry sorbet in the freezer and so served a little of that, a few strawberries (raspberries are better but I couldn’t be bothered to drive for 25 minutes on Saturday to get them!) and a splash of pouring cream.  Frankly just some whipped cream would have done the job.

You will need a spring form cake tin, 23cms in diameter, lightly buttered and lined with baking parchment

200g Fine dark chocolate, 70% of course!

200g Butter

A small hot espresso or strong filter coffee

80g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 level tbsps of good quality cocoa powder, not drinking chocolate!

5 eggs

200g golden unrefined caster sugar – I’m afraid I didn’t have any so just used normal sugar, shame on me!

Pre heat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4

Break up the chocolate and melt in a bowl resting over saucepan of simmering water.  When it starts to melt, pour over the coffee.  Cut up the butter in small pieces and drop it into the chocolate and coffee.  Do not stir it, but just leave it gently heating.  Sieve the flour, baking powder and cocoa together.  Separate the eggs, and whisk the whites in a bowl until they are stiff, then fold in the sugar with a large metal spoon.  Remove the chocolate from the heat and stir to dissolve the last of the butter.  Mix the egg yolks together then stir quickly into the chocolate.  Fold firmly but gently into the egg whites and sugar.  Lightly fold in the flour and cocoa and then the ground almonds.  Just keep cutting and folding until everything is incorporated without knocking the guts out of it. Put the mixture into the cake tin and cook just above the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes – test the middle with a cocktail stick or a small skewer – it should come out just clean.  As said, don’t over cook, leave to cool a little before taking out of the tin.  Rather than spoil the top, I quite often just put the tin bottom onto the serving platter, but you can flip over if you like and remove the bottom, plus the baking parchment.  Dust with cocoa powder and voila, pud is done.