Seriously Rich Chocolate Cake

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3 1/2 ounces unsalted butter
• butter, for greasing the pan
• 5 ounces best-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces (70% cocoa solids)
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 5 ounces ground almonds
• 1 tablespoon kirsch (optional) or 1 tablespoon cointreau liqueur (optional)
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 ounces sugar
• cocoa powder, to garnish
• creme fraiche, to garnish

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 340º.
• 2 grease a 9in springform cake pan and line the base with greaseproof paper or baking parchment.
• 3 dust the sides with a little flour.
• 4 put the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water.
• 5 heat until melted, then remove the bowl from the pan and stir until smooth.
• 6 leave for about 5 minutes to cool slightly.
• 7 stir in the egg yolks, ground almonds, and the liqueur, if using.
• 8 put the egg whites into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form.
• 9 continue whisking, sprinkling in the sugar a little at a time, until stiff peaks form.
• 10 stir 2 tablespoons of the whites into the
• 11 chocolate mixture, then carefully fold in the remainder until no traces of are left.
• 12 spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen and just firm to the touch.
• 13 cool in pan(don't worry if the cake sinks and cracks slightly - it will still be fine).
• 14 you can make the cake up to this stage up to four days ahead and keep it in an airtight container in a cool place.
• 15 it also freezes well for up to one month.
• 16 to serve, remove the cake from the pan and peel away the lining paper.
• 17 sift cocoa powder liberally over the top and cut into slices.
• 18 serve with crème fraîche.
• 19 enjoy!