This I found in Nigella Lawson’s Domestic Goddess book and added my own slight alterations to it. It is one of my favourite cakes going. I tend to use as much fair trade or locally produced products as I can (the eggs come from a friend down the road). The joy of this cake is that as there is no flour, it is naturally gluten-free as my boyfriend’s mother can’t have gluten, it was a hit there too (well other than he has to share with his mother!)
- 300g Fair Trade Dark Chocolate
- 50g Fair Trade
- 175g butter
- 8 large eggs, separated (This was the trickiest part for me as some of my eggs were a bit older so the yolks were prone to breaking)
- 100g Fair Trade light brown soft sugar
- 100g Fair Trade dark brown soft sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- pint of salt
- 23cm loose bottomed cake tin
- tin foil
- Roasting tin large enough to fit cake tin inside
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and put the Kettle onto boil. Line the inside of your cake tin with foil, making sure you press the foil into the sides and bottom of the tim so it is smooth with no holes (watch your finger nails, without fail at this stage I put at least one nail through the foil!). This is important so when the cake goes into the waterbath and into the oven the water cannot get into the cake mix.
- Melt the chocolate and butter together, this can be done in a microwave, but I prefer the traditional method of a heatproof bowl sat on a pan of boiling water. Once melted allow to cool.
- In another bowl (make it a large bowl, else otherwise you will end up like I did the first time using several bowls and causing an awful lot of washing up for myself) beat the egg yolks and sugars together until a thick and pale mixture is formed. Nigella says it should be as creamy as mayonnaise but as long as the mix falls from the whisk to form ribbons it will be fine (not being someone who eats or uses mayonnaise her description threw me slightly). Stir in the vanilla and salt, then add the melted chocolate mix.
- Whisk the eggs whites until soft peaks form, then lighten the chocolate mixture with a briskly beaten-in dollop of whites before gently folding the rest in (use a metal spoon!).
- Poor the batter into the foil-lined cake tin which you have placed in the rasting tin. Add hot water to the roasting tin till its about a third of the way up the cake tin (2.5-3 cm deep). Carefully put the roasting tin into the over.
- Bake for 50 minutes-1 hour (the top should look cooked and dry, while the inside is damp and moussey). Remove cake tin from roasting tin and place on a cooling rack (I have found having a teatowel under said cooling rack will prevent having a puddle of water forming) until fully cooled.
- Once cool, release from cake tin and slowly peel off foil before placing on a plate.
I like to warm up the cake and have strawberries/raspberries and Ice cream with it. You can also put the cake mix directly into the fridge (no baking) and have a wonderfully indulgent chocolate mousse. Both are firm favourites of mine!
As the Wind Blows... 