French Chocolate Cake

 

A favourite French homemade cake: - dense, dark, delicious and naturally gluten-free. 

Ingredients

For cake:
250g soft butter, 200g for the cake and 50g for the topping
6 eggs, split, using 6 yolks and only 3 white
a few dashes of salt
250g granulated or caster sugar
250g baking chocolate 60% cocoa
100 g ground almonds
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
½ teaspoon baking powder

For topping:
50g butter
125 g chocolate 70% cocoa
1-2 tablespoons milk (optional)
80g  icing sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 200-220°C 

Butter a quiche pan and put parchment paper on the bottom. Butter the parchment paper  then sprinkle icing sugar on bottom and sides and shake out excess.

Separate the eggs and first mix the 3 whites in one bowl, with a dash of salt until stiff.

Mix the yolks and sugar in a larger bowl until the mix turns white. Melt the chocolate in a double broiler or alternately microwave it for 1 minute, give it a stir, then add another 15 seconds or so if there are still lumps. Pour the melted chocolate into the yolk / sugar mix and stir immediately to even out the temperature.

Add the ground almonds, corn starch, baking powder and optional vanilla into the mix.

Fold the whites into the batter using a spatula. Mix well, but stop as soon as you don't see any more whites.

Pour into pan and bake for 25-30 mns. When testing with a knife, you should still have some batter clinging to the knife when you take it out. 

Let it cool for a half hour, then flip over onto plate.

Making the frosting

Melt the chocolate and remaining butter and add the icing sugar (and if desired, the milk to help make it easier to spread).

Cover the cake carefully with the topping.

You can refrigerate, but take out an hour before eating.

 

Cut small slices and enjoy!