Chocolate almond cake with ganache icing
Makes 1 cake
150g butter
150g dark chocolate
¹/³ cup cocoa powder
1¹/³ cups firmly-packed, soft brown sugar
¹/³ cup hot strong coffee
1 cup ground almonds
4 eggs, separated
1. Heat oven to 160°C fan bake. Grease a 22cm spring form cake tin and line the base with nonstick baking paper.
2. In a bowl, melt butter and chocolate together and stir until smooth. Combine cocoa powder, sugar and hot coffee in another bowl and stir until smooth. Combine both these mixtures and stir until smooth. Stir in ground almonds and egg yolks.
3. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture. Pour mixture into prepared cake tin. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out moist but clean.
4. Cool cake in the tin for 30 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Ice the cold cake with ganache.
Chocolate ganache icing
½ cup cream
150g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped, or dark chocolate melts
1. Combine cream and chocolate in a bowl and melt, either in the microwave or by placing bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth.
2. Leave to cool to room temperature so the ganache thickens and will remain on top of the cake when spread over its surface.
Tip: For ease of slicing, use a hot knife – one that has been dipped in boiling water – to cut this moist cake.
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