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Flourless chocolate & hazelnut cake
Flourless cakes are often enjoyed at Passover celebrations, as they’re free from grains and leavening agents, relying on whipped egg whites to give that elegantly subtle lift. This recipe contains amaretto, but swap it for fresh black coffee if you prefer, adding 1 tbsp caster sugar to the cream.
Gluten free
Serves12
CourseCake
Prepare35 mins
Cook45 mins
Total time1 hr 20 mins
Pluscooling
Ingredients
For the cake
250g unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing
250g dark chocolate (70%), roughly chopped
200g roasted chopped hazelnuts
6 large eggs, separated
250g golden caster sugar
75g ground almonds
3 tbsp amaretto
Cocoa powder, for dusting
For the amaretto cream
300ml double cream
1 tbsp amaretto liqueur
Method
Grease and line a 23cm springform cake tin with
baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas
mark 4. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof
bowl and set over a pan of barely simmering water
until melted. In the small bowl of a food processor,
whizz 175g hazelnuts until fnely ground; set aside.
Cool the chocolate mixture for 5 minutes, then
beat in the egg yolks with a balloon whisk. In a
separate bowl, use electric beaters to whisk the egg
whites to stiff peaks. Continue to whisk while slowly
adding the sugar, until you get a thick, glossy meringue.
Gently stir the ground hazelnuts, almonds, amaretto
and a pinch of salt into the chocolate mixture; beat in
1 large spoonful of meringue. Using a metal spoon,
carefully fold in the remaining meringue. Spoon into
the prepared tin; bake for 35-40 minutes, until risen
with a little wobble in the middle. (Do not test with
a skewer.) Transfer, in the tin, to a wire rack; set aside
to cool completely. It will sink a little in the middle.
Just before serving, whisk the cream and amaretto
to soft peaks. Dust the top of the cake with cocoa,
then dollop over the cream. Dust with cocoa again,
scatter over the remaining 25g nuts and serve at once.
