serves
6-8
prep
10 minutes
cook
40 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
6-8
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
40
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
My sister is many things: surgeon, mother, great swimmer, chatty Cathy. Baker, though, she is not. When we were younger she had one cake on high rotation: a flourless chocolate cake – a packet mix mind you – studded with raspberries. In her defence, it was a great packet mix. This is Steph’s cake. She’ll most likely never bake it, but it’s here if she needs to reminisce.
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate (70% or higher), roughly chopped
- 200 g (7 oz) unsalted butter, cubed
- 6 large eggs, separated
- 150 g (5½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
- 50 g (1¾ oz) cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 150 g (5½ oz) fresh raspberries (or pitted cherries, if in season), plus extra to serve (optional)
- Thick (double) cream, to serve
Cooling and chilling time: 3-4 hours
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) fan-forced (or 180°C non-fan-forced). Line the base and sides of a 20 cm (8 inch) round cake tin with baking paper.
- Combine the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and heat in the microwave in 30-second bursts until melted. Stir until smooth, then set aside to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until foaming. With the mixer still running, slowly rain in 100 g (3½ oz) of the caster sugar, then increase the speed to medium–high and whisk until thick peaks form.
- In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks, the remaining 50 g (1¾ oz) of caster sugar and the cocoa, salt and vanilla and whisk (by hand is fine here) until the mixture is aerated and smooth. Add the cooled melted chocolate and butter and mix until combined.
- Finally, fold one-third of the meringue through the chocolate base to lighten the mixture. Add the remaining meringue and gently fold (ideally with a whisk) until combined.
- Pour the batter into the cake tin and stud with the raspberries (or cherries, if using). Bake for 35–40 minutes. The cake will rise and have a shiny top with a gentle wobble remaining in the centre.
- Remove the cake from the oven and watch the magic as it collapses down on itself, creating the most imperfectly perfect chocolate cake on earth. Allow it to cool completely in the tin, then refrigerate until cold – this will help you remove it from
- the tin.
- To turn the cake out, invert it onto a plate, remove the baking paper, then top with your serving plate. Flip the cake back over and remove the baking paper from the edges.
- To serve, dust the cake with cocoa powder, then slice into generous pieces. Serve with cream and fresh raspberries if you like.
Recipe and image from You Had Me at Cake by Emelia Jackson, photography by Armelle Habib (Murdoch Books RRP $39.99).
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
