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- 200g dark chocolate (minimum 55 per cent cocoa solids)
- 200g butter, cubed (plus extra for greasing)
- 150g caster sugar
- Pinch salt
- 5 medium eggs
- 1-2 tbsp strong espresso coffee
- 150g ground almonds
- For chocolate icing:
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- 100ml cream
- Edible flowers (optional) to garnish
- Variation For a different flavour, coffee essence can be replaced with the zest of one orange. For decoration, any fruit can be used instead of edible flowers.
1. Preheat a fan oven to 170 degrees Celsius, or equivalent. Grease and line the base of a 20cm springform or loose bottomed cake tin with parchment paper (grease the sides of the tin also with butter).
2. Place the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water and let them melt together; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.
3. Use a handheld whisk to stir in the sugar and salt until fully combined.
4. Next whisk the eggs and coffee essence into the chocolate mixture.
5. Lastly, fold in the ground almonds.
6. Transfer the mixture into the cake tin, and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until the surface has a light crust, while the centre has a barely visible wobble.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin. Remove the parchment paper from the base of the cake before placing it on a serving dish.
8. To make the chocolate icing, use a small heavy-based saucepan to heat the cream until it comes to the boil. Place the chocolate into a small bowl and pour the scalded cream over it, allow to sit for one minute before stirring to a smooth chocolate sauce. Once it has cooled down but is still spreadable, use a spatula to spread it over the cooled cake. Decorate with edible flowers and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
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