Chocolate and Almond Torte
I thought looking at this one that it would be a nice and easy chocolate cake for my grandmother's birthday. Five hours later I was still in the kitchen cursing at the wretched thing and swearing I would never make it again. Still came out okay, and everybody ate it, so it mustn't have been so bad. While at a quick look it seems to be a quick cake, and one that'll turn out thick and dense, it's rather time consuming (stuff-ups aside!) and it comes up light and fluffy. Good luck to anyone else who attempts it! Recipe behind cut.
Ingredients
225g/8oz plain chocolate, broken into pieces
3 tbsp water
150g/5.5oz soft brown sugar
175g/6oz butter, softened
25g/1oz ground almonds
3 tbsp self raising flour
5 eggs, separated
100g/3.5oz blanched almonds, finely chopped
icing sugar, for dusting
mixed fruit and/or double cream for serving (optional)
1. Grease a 23cm/9inch loose bottomed cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
2. Melt the chocolate with the water in a saucepan set over a very low heat, stirring until smooth. Add the sugar and stir until thoroughly dissolved, taking the pan off the heat to prevent it overheating.
3. Add the butter in small amounts until it has melted into the chocolate. Remove from the heat and lightly stir in the ground almonds and flour. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until they stand in soft peaks, then fold them into the chocolate mixture with a metal spoon. Stir in the chopped almonds. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface.
5. Bake in a preheated oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 40-45 minutes, until well risen and firm (the cake will crack on the surface during cooking).
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 30-40 minutes, Turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with the icing sugar and serve in slices with double cream (if using).