This is a great recipe, as the lack of flour makes this sponge really soft and moist and it is gluten free, too. It’s so dark and chocolatey that I usually serve it with a little whipped cream and some fresh berries.
Serves 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
You’ll need:
125g (4oz) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
125g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
150g (5oz) golden castor sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract 75g (3oz) cocoa powder
Method:
Preheat the oven to 170°C (fan 150°C)/325°F/gas mark 3. Grease a 20cm (8in) diameter, 6cm (2½ in) deep springform cake tin and line with baking paper. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the surface of the water does not touch the bowl. Leave to cool.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using an electric hand whisk until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the cooled chocolate and the vanilla. Sift the cocoa powder and gently fold in.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a cooling rack.
Tip:
For an extra hit of cocoa, dust the inside of the greased tin with cocoa powder.
Chocolat by Eric Lanlard
This recipe is taken from Chocolat by Eric Lanlard (published by Octopus and available at all good bookstores for R300).
Read more about Chocolat.
Photograph by Kate Whitaker.
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