It’s no secret that chocolate is one of my favourite ingredients. Dark, quality chocolate that is. The other thing I simply adore is the combination of chocolate and coffee. Interesting, since I don’t drink coffee because I don’t like the taste of it. But there is something about the chocolate coffee combination that I just can’t resist. The moment I saw the recipe for this rich dark chocolate cake by Jamie Oliver I knew I had to make it. The fact that it is gluten free is just a bonus! This cake is perfect for any occasion, quick and simple to make and will be adored by all your friends and family.
I modified the original recipe a little by replacing regular caster sugar with a combination of brown sugar and xylitol, so you can easily use regular sugar, just brown sugar or just xylitol. I also added some instatnt coffee just to add to that amazing coffee flavour in the chocolate. It’s best if you just taste the melted chocolate and add instatnt coffee to your taste. The flavour of coffee will be a bit more intense after baking, though.
Ingredients:
200g almonds
200g dark chocolate (75%)
175g unsalted butter
35g brown sugar, grinded
35g Xylitol, grinded
4 eggs (separated)
20ml strong espresso
2 tsp instant coffee
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and grease and line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
2. Blitz the almonds in a food processor until just finely ground – don’t over-pulse as they will start to become sticky.
3. Melt the dark chocolate and butter together with the espresso in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water, stirring occasionally. Once completely melted, add the instant coffee and stir well in order for it to dissolve in the melted chocolate.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, the brown sugar and the xylitol until thick and pale – about 5 minutes with a handheld electric whisk.
5. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg and sugar mixture and then fold in the ground nuts.
6. In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites in to stiff peaks and then fold this in to the cake mixture.
7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. If you prefer a gooey chocolate pudding then feel free slightly undercook it.
