Flourless Chocolate Cake

The skies today are a bright, pale mid-winter blue, the air still and cold. I’m enjoying a moment of afternoon silence, drinking a cup of tea with a thin sliver of the Rhubarb & Chocolate Ganache Tart that I baked on Sunday afternoon.

T will be waking up any minute now, so I’m going to keep it short and sweet with a list of my latest favourites (if you’re just in it for the Flourless Chocolate Cake, keep on scrolling)…

• Data scientist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz has been analysing anonymous Google searches and the results are so, so fascinating
• If it wasn’t so fucking cold outside, I would be making these
• A superb profile of the enigmatic and supremely talented Nick Cave
• I’m only about half way through, but The Long Goodbye by Anna Krien is equal parts chilling and informative
• Dear un… has some fantastically thoughtful and irreverent art critique (I may work for un Projects but I’m not biased, honest!)
• A bright Breakfast Salad, plus some honest words on parenting, from Sara @ Sprouted Kitchen
• I know there way too many chocolate chip cookie recipes in the world, but these Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies look AMAZE, plus David Lebovitz never fails
• Made this Carrot, Ginger & Miso Soup again for the first time since I posted the recipe last year – almost forgot how damn simple and good it is
• If you’re in Melbourne, this piece of public art commemorating two Aboriginal men who were hanged in 1842 is well worth taking the time to visit

And when it comes to favourites, this cake is high on the list. Not for the fainthearted – chocolate-y and rich and gooey. It isn’t too sweet – indeed, it has an almost-bitter edge, courtesy the chocolate and the coffee, and is best eaten with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Serve this at a dinner party and everyone will want to be your best friend.

Enjoy!
Sarah x

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

110 grams butter, unsalted
2/3 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp finely ground coffee
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsps almond meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
230 grams dark chocolate (60 – 70% cocoa)
3/4 cup brown sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 180°c/350°f. Butter a 19cm round springform pan, the dust with a heaped tablespoon of cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate and the butter together. The easiest way to do this is to place the heatproof bowl with the chocolate and butter over a saucepan of boiling water, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula until it is fully melted and combined. Set aside for 2 or 3 minutes, to slightly cool.

Whisk the egg yolks and the vanilla extract into the melted chocolate mixture, then sift in the ground coffee, the cocoa powder, the almond meal, and the salt. Mix to combine.

Using either a stand or hand held mixture, whisk the egg whites until they start to form soft peaks. Add the sugar in a slow steady stream, continuing to whisk until you get stuff, glossy peaks.

Gently fold the egg white mixture into the melted chocolate mixture. Use a rubber spatula to do the folding, taking care to combine the two well without losing the air from the whipped eggs.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth over the top, and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. The edges should barely be pulling away from the sides of the pan, and there will be a thin crust over the top.

Leave to cool in the pan for up to an hour, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.

As delicious warm as it is cold. Keeps for 4 – 5 days, covered and in the fridge. Serve with freshly whipped cream.