Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake
Can’t imagine making a cake without flour? Ground nuts are the perfect substitute in this scrumptious gluten-free chocolate extravaganza
Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake
Ingredients
- 300 g 10½ oz plain chocolate, broken into small pieces
- 200 g 7oz whole blanched hazelnuts
- 150 g 5oz unsalted butter, softened
- 150 g 5oz caster sugar
- 4 medium eggs separated
- 3 tbsp crème fraîche
- Cocoa powder for dusting
- Chocolate curls for decorating
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool. Whizz the nuts in a processor until they look like coarse breadcrumbs. Set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating as you go. Stir in the melted chocolate, crème fraîche and nuts.
- Whisk the egg whites until quite firm. Fold into the cake mixture. Tip the mixture into a 20cm (8in) square loose-based tin lined with greaseproof paper and bake at 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4) for 40 mins.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin on a wire rack. Remove from the tin, dust with cocoa powder and decorate with chocolate curls.
Notes
Remember this is a very rich recipe: a little goes a long way!
