I loved Shirvo’s memories of arriving at his nan’s house to find chocolate-covered almonds as a special Christmas treat. This cake brings the flavour of chocolate and almonds together with a grown-up take on the combination.
Serves: 10
INGREDIENTS
250 grams dark cooking chocolate (50–70% cocoa), roughly chopped
200 grams butter, chopped
175 grams caster sugar
4 large eggs, separated
½–1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon amaretto
3 tablespoons (20 grams) dark cocoa powder
2 cups (200 grams) ground almonds
TO SERVE
200ml cream
3 tablespoons (20 grams) dark cocoa powder
150 grams mascarpone
chocolate-covered almonds and hazelnuts
METHOD
EQUIPMENT: Grease and line a 20cm round springform cake tin with baking paper.
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan bake.
Put the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30-second bursts until the chocolate is melting. Leave to sit for a few minutes then whisk until smooth (repeat with a few more bursts in the microwave if necessary).
Add three-quarters of the sugar, the egg yolks, extract and amaretto and stir to combine, then add the cocoa and ground almonds and mix through.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Continue beating while adding the remaining caster sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to create a meringue-like consistency. Add 1 tablespoon of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture and stir to loosen slightly. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites and pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 40 minutes then leave to cool. The cake may appear a bit knobbly on top and drop in the middle, but don’t worry, this is perfect!
TO SERVE: Whip the cream to soft peaks, sieve over 2½ tablespoons of the dark cocoa and fold in the mascarpone. Dollop onto the cake then swirl across the cake and top with a dusting of the remaining ½ tablespoon cocoa powder and the chocolate-covered nuts. If refrigerating, remove from the fridge half an hour before serving.
Read our interview with Matt here
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