It’s been a while since we posted a recipe (or anything at all – sorry about that) but today that sad drought ends with a scrumptious cake from ace chef Brendan Cashman of Gallo & Galetti, who claims that his creation will “leave your guests in a happy daze.” (But don’t worry – it’s not one of those cakes.)
Ingredients
1 tbsp ground almonds, plus extra for dusting the tin | 300g dark chocolate (min. 60% cocoa solids) | 275g caster sugar | 165g unsalted butter | pinch of sea salt | 5 large organic eggs | icing sugar | good cream
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Brush a tin (use a 20cm-23cm / 8in-9in one with a removable base) with melted butter and dust with ground almonds, shaking off any excess. Melt the chocolate, sugar, butter and salt in a bowl suspended over a pot of barely-simmering water. Whisk the eggs with the ground almonds and fold into the melted chocolate mixture, which will thicken after a few minutes.
Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 35-40mins. Note that the cake won’t rise much, but don’t worry; it’s supposed to be very rich and thin. When baked, remove the sides of the tin and leave the cake on its base to cool. Then, using a fine sieve, dust with icing sugar (or you can even brush with edible gold dust). If chilled overnight the cake becomes fudge-like and even denser. Serve with good-quality, gently-whipped cream.
Wine match
You could argue that a gorgeously sweet and rich dessert like this should be enjoyed on its own, or just with coffee. Certainly a standard dry red or white wine would taste mean and joyless alongside the luscious pudding. A Muscat might be a good bet: not too heavy (you don’t want to overpower the airy mousse), and with enough residual sugar to balance the toothsome cake – try Tapas Collection Moscato .
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