Flourless chocolate & almond cake

This cake has two personalities: if you eat it a few hours after baking, it will be like a big chocolate fondant with a molten middle, but leave it overnight and it turns into more of a fudgy brownie. This one’s flavoured with vanilla to keep it family-friendly, but you could add a little espresso or a splash of almond or hazelnut liqueur instead. Because it’s flourless, it can easily be glutenfree – just ensure your cocoa powder and chocolate are, too.

CUTS INTO 8-10 slices PREP 30 mins COOK 50 mins EASY V

200g dark cooking chocolate,

chopped into small pieces 200g butter, chopped into

small pieces 3 eggs

175g golden caster sugar 100g mascarpone or soft cheese ¼ tsp vanilla extract

100g ground almonds

30g cocoa powder, plus extra

to serve

1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4 and line the base of a 20cm springform tin with baking parchment. Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of just-simmering water, or in the microwave in 20-second bursts. Stir, then leave to cool slightly.

2 Meanwhile, tip the eggs and sugar into a second bowl and beat with an electric whisk for 4-5 mins, or until thick and creamy. Add the mascarpone or soft cheese and vanilla, and continue to beat until everything is combined. Lightly fold in the cooled melted chocolate mixture until everything is one even colour, then fold in the almonds. Sift over the cocoa powder and a small pinch of salt, and fold in to combine. 3 Scrape the cake batter into the prepared tin. Put the tin on a baking tray and bake for 35-40 mins until the cake is puffed up and has cracked on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 30-40 mins – it will deflate as it cools. Serve warm as a chocolate pudding, or leave to cool completely and enjoy as a fudgy brownie cake. Dust with extra cocoa powder before serving.

GOOD TO KNOW gluten free

PER SERVING (10) 473 kcals • fat 37g • saturates 19g •

carbs 26g • sugars 23g • fibre 3g • protein 7g •

salt 0.5g