Gooey Chocolate Cake

Here I am again with another Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe… I hope they aren’t getting tedious, but I just love his food as well as his ideology so much! I think I might get an ‘I heart Hugh F-W’ t-shirt printed one of these days… anyway, I digress!!

Here is another success from his Everyday cookbook, and is a little different from the normal chocolate cakes you get. It’s made with almonds in the mix which gives it a lovely moist texture as well as a sort of warm taste if you know what I mean. There’s something really comforting about almonds, and whenever they sneak in to a recipe you really can tell, there’s a certain flavour that sort of envelopes you, they make the dish that little bit more luxurious and rich without overwhelming you. I don’t know if I’m explaining this very well, let’s just say they bring a certain je ne sais quoi to the cake!!

As well as this, the cake isn’t really a cake… I’m worried I’m going to lose you here, but bear with me! This is a good thing!! Instead of a run-of-the-mill sponge, this one is kind of gooey inside due to the lack of flour and when warm it’s a little difficult to tame but wonderfully smooth, soft and sticky, and then when it’s been cooling for a few hours and comes to room temperature – Oh. My. God!! The mix of brown sugar with caster sugar gives it a wonderfully caramelly flavour and it’s like chocolate fudge encased in chocolate cake! Completely delicious and oh-so-moreish!!

Chocolate Cake:

250g dark chocolate
250g unsalted butter
4 medium eggs, separated
100g caster sugar
100g soft light brown sugar
50g plain flour
50g ground almonds

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until well combined, then add the melted chocolate and butter to the yolk mix.
Combine the flour and almonds then fold these in too.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until they form firm peaks.
Stir in one spoonful of whites to the chocolate mix to loosen it, then continue to fold in the rest of the whites, careful not to knock out the air.
Put the mixture into a prepared baking tin anf bake at 170 degrees for 30 minutes, until only just set. Take it out when there is still a wobble in the middle - this will result in the sticky gooey texture I was raving about!!
Leave to cool on a wire rack before turning out of the tin.
Dig in!!!

It isn’t decorated with anything; no frills, no frosting, nothing, and honestly – it’s at its best this way. The texture is too delicate to sustain any buttercream, and the flavour of the almonds with the chocolate really shines and would be completely overwhelmed by any heavy frosting.

I don’t think this is a special occasion cake, it’s more of an ‘I need a cup of tea and a treat’ type of cake. It’s not decadent and fancy, but humble and utterly satisfying, enjoy!!