Chocolate Nut Cake Recipe
More than a match
Chocolate cake murders most wines, but Port is a different matter entirely, especially if the recipe includes a generous splash of the good stuff. By Lannice Snyman.
Funny thing, cravings; pigging out doesn't make them go away. Ask any chocaholic who simply can't stop after a couple of blocks: that half-eaten slab keeps urging them back for more.
Skinny people who prefer to stay with the savoury wouldn't dream of telling you that chocolate stimulates the brain to release sensual pleasure hormones. Another way of saying it makes us feel good. They simply say it's fattening. Which is true, of course; a 100g slab contains a whopping 2 500 kilojoules, which cuts no ice when the devil inside urges you to indulge.
This show-off cake is a masterpiece of edible depravity; a thing of beauty with a wickedly boozy bite in the after-taste. It looks much harder to bake than it is. Don't let domestic-goddess-terms like "melt the chocolate" and "whip the whites to soft peaks" put you off .
It's even better the day after. Simply wrap it in foil and do the icing-and-berry thing shortly before serving. When catering for a crowd, make two cakes, double the chocolate cream and use some to sandwich them together.
A couple of words of warning, though. Don't even think of cutting corners on the quality of the chocolate you use and make sure it has at least 33% cocoa solids. Inferior chocolate and (even worse) so-called "cooking chocolate" doesn't give the glorious bitter edge that comes from using decent ingredients. And if your cake tin is larger than 18cm, bake it for a shorter time.
Chocolate Nut Cake
Serves 10 to 12
50g sultanas
½ cup Port
100g nibbed or slivered almonds
200g dark chocolate, chopped
125g butter
150g castor sugar
3 eggs, separated
120g cake fl our
1 teaspoon baking powder
200g berries, for garnishing
Lightly grease and flour an 18cm spring-form or loosebased
cake tin. Set the oven at 170º C.
Place the sultanas in a small bowl. Warm the Port,
pour over and set aside for about 15 minutes for the
sultanas to plump. Roast the almonds in a dry frying pan,
tossing them about until they are golden and the kitchen
smells blissful.
Melt together the chocolate and butter in a double
boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir until smooth,
then allow to cool. Beat together the castor
sugar and egg yolks until thick and pale. Mix
in the cooled chocolate and butter mixture
and sultanas (with the Port). Sift in the flour
and baking powder, add the almonds and
fold everything gently together.
Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, fold
into the batter and pour it into the prepared
baking tin. At this stage you'll think the
party has already started, as the smell of
the Port fills the air.
Bake for about 35 minutes. The outside
of the cake will be firm; the centre still
slightly moist. Cool the cake in the tin
before turning it out onto a plate.
Chocolate Cream
200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
125ml cream
Melt the chocolate and cream in a double boiler or a
bowl over a pan of simmering water (don't let the water
touch the chocolate container). Stir well, then spoon
onto cake, allowing it to drip seductively down the sides.
Toss the berries on top and that's all there is to it.
