This almond and chocolate cake recipe combines the richness of cooking chocolate with the nutty flavors of almonds. Optional almond mascarpone topping adds a luxurious touch. Perfect for any occasion and easy to make.
Almond mascarpone (optional you could just use whipped cream)
200 g Mascarpone (Main)
¼ cup Almond butter
½ tsp Almond essence
CakeÂ
250 g Butter
250 g Cooking chocolate (Main)
8 Eggs, separated
250 g Caster sugar
250 g Ground almonds (Main)
200 g Cooking chocolate, to garnish (Main)
¼ cup Dried strawberries, to serve
DirectionsÂ
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Grease a 24cm-round cake tin.
In a bowl combine mascarpone, almond butter and almond essence to a smooth consistency. Refrigerate until required.
To make cake, melt butter and first measure of cooking chocolate in a bowl set over boiling water. Allow to cool.
In another bowl beat egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and thick.
Add ground almonds then stir in cooled butter and chocolate mixture.
Beat egg whites until stiff then fold into chocolate mixture.
Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin before turning out.
Meanwhile, melt the second measure (200 g) of cooking chocolate and allow to cool slightly.
When ready to serve, completely cover cake with melted chocolate then top with freeze-dried strawberries.
Serve in thin wedges by itself or with almond mascarpone or plain whipped cream.
Keeps well, wrapped in plastic film, in the refrigerator. This cake is simple to put together and always a crowd-pleaser. Simon serves it with almond mascarpone which is a wicked substitute for cream, you could even use it as a frosting if you didn’t want to have the chocolate garnish.