Classy bitter chocolate fondant cake

Natalie Allen, of Sweet Things bakery in Primrose Hill, was kind enough to share this recipe with me. Use really good quality dark chocolate. Make with butter for a milky meal.

Serves 8–10

INGREDIENTS

Cocoa powder, for dusting 200g good-quality dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids, broken into pieces

200g margarine (or butter if after a milky meal), plus extra for greasing (or use vegetable oil)

160g caster sugar

5 eggs

1 tbsp plain flour (glutenfree is fine)

To serve

Parev vanilla ice cream Raspberries

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan.

Grease a 20cm springform cake tin with butter or oil and dust with cocoa powder; you won’t need to line the tin if you do this thoroughly enough.

Put the chocolate and butter together in a glass bowl and either set over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring that the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water, or heat in the microwave in 30-second bursts, until melted.

Stir in the sugar, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating in each one with a wooden spoon before adding the next. Add the flour and mix well, then transfer to the prepared tin.

Bake for 20–25 minutes; the cake should still tremble in the middle.

Leave to cool completely in the tin, then serve at room temperature, or serve chilled with some non-dairy vanilla ice cream and raspberries.

Recipe adapted from ‘Fress’, (Mitchell Beazley)