Seriously rich chocolate cake

Seriously rich chocolate cake

Dark, rich and delicious - the perfect dessert

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 8-10 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 - 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 35 mins

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3/fan oven 150C. Grease a 23cm/9in springform cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Dust the sides with a little flour. Put the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Heat until melted, then remove the bowl from the pan and stir until smooth. Leave for about 5 minutes to cool slightly.
  2. Stir in the egg yolks, ground almonds, and the liqueur, if using. Put the egg whites into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form. Continue whisking, sprinkling in the sugar a little at a time, until stiff peaks form. Stir 2 tablespoons of the whites into the chocolate mixture, then carefully fold in the remainder until no traces of white are left.
  3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen and just firm to the touch. Cool in the tin (don't worry if the cake sinks and cracks slightly - it will still be fine). You can make the cake up to this stage up to four days ahead and keep it in an airtight container in a cool place. It also freezes well for up to one month.
  4. To serve, remove the cake from the tin and peel away the lining paper. Sift cocoa powder liberally over the top and cut into slices. Serve with crème fraîche.

Per serving for eight

401 kcalories, protein 10g, carbohydrate 24g, fat 30 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 2g, sugar 22g, salt 0.66 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo Adriana

    2007-11-03 09:00:18.34008

    Adriana commented on this recipe

    Can this be made a day in advance? Do you need to keep it in the refrigerator? Thanks. I'm planning to make it as a birthday cake for a friend and one of the party cannot eat wheat so this will be a perfect treat for everyone.

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  • Binder photo Helen

    2007-11-09 19:46:37.485413

    Helen commented on this recipe

    I made this for a family gathering to celebrate my daughter's birthday. She is a chocoholic and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did my daughter in law who is gluten intolerant. My grandaughter, aged 2 years, was sorry she was only allowed a taste! It is very rich and no-one could manage a second piece. My daughter and her husband took the leftovers home so I never did get the chance of seconds! I'll have to make it again.

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  • Binder photo Adriana

    2007-11-11 19:08:03.958387

    Adriana rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Birthday cake was a success! Very rich and totally delicious. Perhaps next time I'll be a bit more generous with the amount of alcohol in it as I felt it needed a little kick.

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  • Binder photo annie

    2007-12-03 23:48:58.292482

    annie commented on this recipe

    can freeze for 1 month - no flour/wheat

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  • Binder photo food

    2007-12-28 16:13:39.684099

    food commented on this recipe

    this was fantastic I made individual cakes in muffin cases for my godsons wedding they when down a treat especially his mum who is gluton intolerant

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  • Binder photo fi

    2008-03-14 14:41:37.901757

    fi commented on this recipe

    Truly delicious! I didn't have enough ground almonds so used 40g SR flour. Doesn't need any decoration other than cocoa, would be too rich

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  • Binder photo Gwen

    2008-07-04 18:48:54.163293

    Gwen rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This cake was SERIOUSLY rich and yum! Made it for my friend's 16th birthday. She absolutely loved it!!

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  • Binder photo artbysuz

    2008-07-04 19:23:03.253858

    artbysuz commented on this recipe

    This is a super rich cake worth making.

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  • Binder photo Bookworm

    2008-08-01 07:51:57.204813

    Bookworm rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Have made this cake a few times - it is great but not the best.

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  • Binder photo tweedletwo

    2008-08-24 17:39:21.707223

    tweedletwo commented on this recipe

    not sure where i went wrong with this one, i turned out really heavy and not very tasty - looked good when it came out of the oven but as soon as i stuck a squewer into it to see if it was done it just sunk. Might try it again but find using gluten free flour in other cakes works better.

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  • Binder photo Nead

    2008-12-15 20:07:06.775453

    Nead rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo dippyd

    2009-03-28 19:43:59.333639

    dippyd rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    quite a dense cake, delicious, but not sure if its my favourite

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  • Binder photo katiesobol

    2009-09-26 18:25:45.399563

    katiesobol rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Loved this cake - made it for my little girl's birthday party as there were a number of guests who were gluten intolerant. They were so pleased to not only have cake that wouldn't give them a stomachache, but also one that tasted great. Everyone else thought it was delicious too - hit all round

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  • Binder photo Freya

    2010-06-26 19:29:35.740003

    Freya rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Just one word : lovely ! Should you nevertheless have any leftovers, they easily keep until the next day.

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  • Binder photo Highlander30

    2010-07-25 13:50:48.372564

    Highlander30 rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Rachel

    2010-10-27 00:11:42.837695

    Rachel commented on this recipe

    The texture was perfect but this cake really doesn't taste of much!

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  • Binder photo scouserjay

    2010-11-30 11:07:37.547779

    scouserjay commented on this recipe

    a really nice chocolate cake approved by whole family. Just 1 thing tho i would sprinkle icing sugar on top next time instead ov cocoa, but otherwise spot on ....

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  • Binder photo simmy

    2010-12-28 11:59:26.06763

    simmy commented on this recipe

    i avnt tried it, but i am on my way to the cake ingredients store... rite away.......

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  • Binder photo caitlin

    2011-05-17 13:35:22.000581

    caitlin commented on this recipe

    must be bad^^^^

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  • Binder photo firdaus

    2011-06-11 21:00:48.09064

    firdaus commented on this recipe

    yumm it looks nice!!!

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 8-10 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 - 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 35 mins

Ingredients

  • 100g butter , diced, plus extra for greasing
  • flour , for dusting
  • 140g best-quality dark chocolate , with 70% cocoa solids, broken into pieces
  • 6 large eggs , separated
  • 140g ground almonds
  • 1 tbsp kirsch or Cointreau (optional)
  • pinch of salt
  • 85g caster sugar
  • cocoa powder and crème fraîche, to serve
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Per serving for eight

401 kcalories, protein 10g, carbohydrate 24g, fat 30 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 2g, sugar 22g, salt 0.66 g

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