Moist chocolate cake
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- + 1 hour in the oven
- Easy
- Serves 10
Ingredients
- 200g and extra for buttering unsalted butter
- for lining the tin plain flour
- 300g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids)
- 6 eggs, separated
- 200g golden caster sugar
- 150g ground almonds
- a squeeze of juice lemon
FROSTING
- 4 rounded tbsp apricot jam
- 500g pack marzipan
- 200g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids)
- 75g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp double cream
Method
- STEP 1
Heat the oven to 180C/ fan 160C/gas 4. Butter, flour and line the base of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking parchment.
- STEP 2
Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir.
- STEP 3
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and very thick. Mix in the melted chocolate and butter. Stir in the almonds.
- STEP 4
Whisk the egg whites and lemon juice until they hold a stiff peak. Stir a large spoonful into the chocolate to loosen the mixture then fold in the rest. Spoon into the tin and bake for about 1 hour until the cake has formed a crust and a skewer comes out with cooked-looking crumbs. Cool in the tin.
- STEP 5
Melt the jam, sieve and use to brush the top and sides of the cake. Roll the marzipan out into a large, thin circle. Lay over the cake, covering the top and sides. Smooth and trim off any excess. Brush with jam.
- STEP 6
Melt the chocolate, butter and cream together. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool and thicken. Spoon the icing on the top of the cake and use a palette knife to smooth it down over the sides. Leave to set.
