Gluten-free chocolate indulgence cake

ingredients

• Cake

  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/3 cup boiling water
  • 150 gram dark chocolate, chopped
  • 150 gram butter, chopped
  • 1 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 20 ferrero rocher milk chocolates or baci

• Chocolate ganache

  • 2/3 cup thickened cream
  • 200 gram dark chocolate, chopped finely
  • 2 shots strong espresso coffee

• Spun sugar

  • 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 1/4 cup water

method

• Chocolate indulgence cake

  • 1

    Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease a 22cm springform tin; line base and side with baking paper.

  • 2

    Whisk cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl until smooth.

  • 3

    Stir chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl over a large saucepan of simmering water until melted. Remove bowl from heat; stir in cocoa mixture, sugar, almonds and egg yolks.

  • 4

    Beat egg whites in a clean, small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form; fold into chocolate mixture in two batches. Pour into prepared tin.

  • 5

    Bake cake for about 1 1/4 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with moist crumbs attached. Stand cake in tin for 15 minutes before removing side; cool.

  • 6

    Chocolate ganache: Meanwhile, bring cream almost to the boil in a small saucepan (or microwave in a microwave-safe jug or dish for about 1 minute on high, or until almost boiling). Add chocolate, stir until smooth. Stir in coffee. Stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until cool and thickened slightly.

  • 7

    Pour three-quarters of the ganache over the cake, spreading to cover the top. Arrange the chocolates over the cake and then drizzle with the remaining ganache.

  • 8

    Spun sugar: Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan; stir over high heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil; boil, uncovered, for 4-6 minutes or until syrup is a light golden colour and reaches 165°C on a sugar thermometer (or, when a teaspoon of syrup is dropped into a glass of cold water it “cracks”).

  • 9

    Remove from heat, allow bubbles to subside. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Dip 2 forks into toffee; working over paper, with forks back to back, quickly pull the forks back and forth against each other to make thin strands of toffee.

  • 10

    Carefully transfer spun sugar to cake just before serving.

notes

Clip the base of the springform tin in upside down so cake will be easier to remove. The Spun Sugar can be made up to an hour before serving if the weather is cool and dry. In humid weather, it must be made close to serving.