RICH CHOCOLATE CAKE

SERVES 12 PREP 20 MINS COOK 2 HOURS + COOLING

200g dark eating chocolate, coarsely chopped 60g butter, coarsely chopped 5 eggs, separated 1 tbsp brandy ½ cup ground almonds ¼ cup plain flour ¹⁄ cup caster sugar 3 ½ cup pouring cream 200g dark chocolate, finely chopped 125g fresh raspberries

1 Grease a 2-litre (8-cup) pudding steamer. Line base with baking paper.

2 Stir chocolate and butter in a large saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Cool 10 mins. Stir in egg yolks and brandy, then ground almonds and sifted flour.

3 Beat egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add sugar, beating until sugar dissolves. Fold egg white mixture into chocolate mixture, in two batches. Spoon mixture into steamer.

4 Place steamer, without lid, in a 4.5-litre (18-cup) slow cooker. Pour enough boiling water into cooker to come halfway up the side of steamer. Cook, covered, on High 2 hours until cake feels firm.

5 Remove steamer from cooker. Turn cake immediately onto a wire rack lined with baking paper to cool.

6 To make chocolate ganache, bring cream to boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, stirring until smooth. Stand ganache at room temperature until spreadable.

7 Spread cake with chocolate ganache, then top with berries.