This recipe is adapted from Karen Martini’s book Where the Heart is. It’s the ultimate chocolate cake, crumbly on the outside and rich on the inside. (metric cups are used for measuring)
Ingredients
125g butter, plus extra melted butter for greasing tin
435g dark chocolate, chopped, and a little extra for lining tin
5 free range eggs, separated
1/3 cup espresso coffee
100ml brandy
1 cup plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
1 cup caster sugar
Dutch cocoa or cocoa for dusting
Pauls dollop cream to serve
Raspberries or fruit to serve (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 165 c. Brush a 26 cm round spring- form cake tin with melted better and line the base with baking paper. Coat the sides of pan with grated chocolate.
Combine the 435g chocolate and butter in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. (avoid the bowl touching water). Stir until smooth and melted. Take off the heat and allow to cool. Stir egg yolks into cooled chocolate mixture one at a time, mixing well after each addition. (if you’re impatient like me, the eggs don’t scramble in warm chocolate). Add coffee and brandy and stir, then add flour and mix until smooth.
Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks forms. Pour in sugar gradually and beat until thick and glossy. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture gently a little at a time until smooth. Pour mixture into spring form pan and bake for 1 hour or until top is crisp and a cake skewer comes out moist. Gently press down the edges as the cake will dip a little in the middle (optional). Turn oven off and return torte to oven for 1 hour to cool slowly. Allow torte to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before unmoulding.
Dust with cocoa and serve with cream and raspberries, strawberries or berries if desired. Store at room temperature. (Do not refrigerate).
Photo by Petrina Finslay
