FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE, PRUNE & HAZELNUT CAKE

PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES (+ COOLING & STANDING) SERVES 10

1 cup (170g) pitted prunes,

chopped finely

½ cup (125ml) hazelnut-flavoured

liqueur

200g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely 125g butter, softened

5 eggs, separated

2/3 cup (150g) firmly packed

brown sugar

1¼ cups (180g) ground hazelnuts 2 teaspoons dutch-processed cocoa

HAZELNUT CREAM

300ml pouring cream 2 tablespoons icing sugar 2 tablespoons hazelnut-flavoured

liqueur 1 Place prunes and liqueur in a small saucepan; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes or until liqueur is reduced by half. Remove from heat; cool.

2 Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a deep 22cm round cake pan; line base and side with baking paper.

3 Stir chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat for 3 minutes or until melted and smooth. Cool mixture to room temperature.

4 Beat egg yolks and brown sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until thick and creamy. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; fold in prune mixture, chocolate mixture and ground hazelnuts.

5 Beat egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form; fold into chocolate mixture, in two batches. Pour mixture into pan. 6 Bake cake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with moist crumbs attached. Stand cake in pan for 15 minutes; turn cake, top-side up, onto a wire rack to cool.

7 Make hazelnut cream.

8 Dust cake with cocoa; serve with hazelnut cream.

HAZELNUT CREAM

Beat cream and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until firm peaks form. Stir in liqueur.