FLOURLESS DARK CHOCOLATE & SEA SALT CAKE

Currabinny

James and William say: “This is an incredibly rich, salty-sweet chocolate cake that’s perfect for dessert. The egg whites provide just enough rise and lightness. The darkness of the chocolate is up to you. We’ve gone for 70% here, as any higher will make your cake a little bitter. The combination of rich dark chocolate and salt manages to be both sophisticated and sweet – delicious and chic!”

MAKES 8 SLICES 170g butter, plus extra for greasing 350g dark chocolate

150g caster sugar

5 medium organic eggs

50g ground almonds

2 tsps sea salt, plus extra for decoration Edible gold dust (optional) Whipped cream, to serve

Method

1 Pre-heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4. Grease a 23cm spring-form cake tin and line with baking parchment.

2 Put the butter, the chocolate and the sugar into a large glass bowl over a pan of barely simmering water until the chocolate and butter melt. Be careful not to overheat the mixture.

3 Leave this to cool while you separate the eggs. Add the egg yolks to the bowl one at a time, beating into the mixture as you go. Whisk the egg whites into sti peaks in a separate bowl.

4 Fold the ground almonds into the chocolate along with the sea salt and half of the whisked egg whites. Carefully incorporate the rest of the egg whites, folding them through the mixture.

5 Transfer the mix into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. The top should be well set, with cracks around the circumference so the middle seems to be breaking away from the sides. Leave to cool for at least 15 minutes, then transfer to a plate and decorate with large akes of sea salt (or edible gold dust, as we like to). Serve with big dollops of softly whipped cream.