This morning is a stolen morning.
Grandparents have come to the rescue and whisked the boys away to the farm for
an hour or two and I sit, in my still house, for a few blissful minutes.
This recipe is something I wanted to share
for a few days. I’d say it fits neatly into the bracket of a ‘heritage
collection’. I’m sure we have all had or tried something similar before; a
dense, heavy, dark chocolate slab that cuts like cold butter. This sort of
recipe is noted down on a scrap of paper or forged in memory but quickly
forgotten, and often a reliable version can’t be located. Well here it is… a
recipe that Higgidy have written for their archive and I cooked and
photographed as proof. We sprawled over salted caramel but a dusting of cocoa
powder is all that is really necessary.
FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
PREP TIME – 30 Minutes
COOK TIME – 40 Minutes
SERVES 6-8
INGREDIENTS
200g dark chocolate, broken up
200g unsalted butter, cubed
200g caster sugar
5 free-range eggs, separated into two separate bowls
30g cocoa powder
INSTRUCTIONS
1.
Preheat
oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/gas mark 3, grease a 23cm cake tin and line with
parchment. Gently melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl and leave aside to
cool.
2.
Whisk
100g of caster sugar in a bowl with the egg yolks until pale and thick. In
another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, gradually adding the remaining
sugar until the mixture is thick and shiny.
3.
Fold
the melted chocolate mix into the egg yolks. When fully incorporated, gently
fold in the egg white mix. Pour the gloopy chocolate mixture into the prepared
tin and bake for 30 minutes.
4.
Turn
the oven off and leave the cake inside to cool for around 10 minutes – the cake
will sink and crack slightly.
