chocolate birthday cake

With lots of friends birthdays recently and of course the very special first birthday of our most favouritist (its a word in the kiddy dictionary, swear!) nephew Billy in Australia, what a great excuse to make a chocolate cake! I LOVE this chocolate cake (well, truth be told of course, I love ANY chocolate cake!). It's actually made without flour, with ground hazelnuts used in it's place. To prepare these, blend blanched hazelnuts in a mini blender to very fine crumbs. You could of course use ground almonds instead. This, combined with the melted chocolatey butter mixture, results in a deliciously moist and dense cake...the prefect comfort cake, particularly if indulged in when still slightly warm....mmmm

CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT CAKE

Serves 8

150g unsalted butter + extra for greasing

200g 70% cocoa chocolate

1 tbsp frangelico liqueur (or amaretto or tia maria)

175g golden caster sugar

100g ground hazelnuts

5 eggs

TO SERVE

fresh raspberries

softly whipped cream or creme fraiche

Grease a round 8” spring form cake tin with butter and set on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F / Gas Mark 4).

Dice the butter into a large heat-proof bowl and break the chocolate in. Add the frangelico liqueur and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and then remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.

Meanwhile, separate the eggs, placing the whites into a large clean bowl and reserving the yolks. Whisk the whites until stiff.

Next, returning to the chocolate mixture, mix the sugar and ground hazelnuts through. Stir the egg yolks in, one at a time.

Finally, stir a spoonful of the whisked egg whites into the mixture and then very gently fold the remaining whites in until well blended.

Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 40 minutes until risen, crisp and cracked on top but still just soft in the centre. Leave to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before carefully removing. Allow to cool completely cool or serve just warm if preferred.

This is delicious served with fresh raspberries & softly whipped cream or crème fraiche.