Cooking Notes: plus 23hr cooling
Serving notes: Cuts into 12
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For the Cake
- 300 g (11oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 225 g (8oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
- 225 g (8oz) golden caster sugar
- 225 g (8oz) ground almonds
- 8 large eggs, separated
- 125 g (4oz) fresh brown breadcrumbs
- 4 Tbsp. apricot jam, optional
For the Ganache
- 175 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 75 g butter, softened
- 4 Tbsp. double cream, warmed
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) mark 4. Grease and line a 23cm (9in) springform cake tin.
- Step 2
Melt the chocolate by putting it into a heatproof bowl resting over a pan of just-boiled water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Remove melted chocolate from the heat.
- Step 3
Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat together until light and creamy. Add the ground almonds, egg yolks and breadcrumbs, and beat well until mixed together thoroughly. Slowly add the chocolate and carefully stir it in, taking care not to over-mix as the chocolate may seize up.
- Step 4
Put the egg whites into a clean, grease-free bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Add half the whites to the chocolate mixture and fold in lightly using a large metal spoon, then carefully fold in the remainder.
- Step 5
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake for 1hr 20min or until the cake is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5min then transfer to a rack for 2-3hr to cool completely.
- Step 6
If using, put the jam into a pan and melt over a low heat or heat in a 900W microwave on medium for 50sec. Brush jam over the top and sides of the cooled cake.
- Step 7
To make the ganache, put the chocolate, butter and cream into a bowl and rest it over a pan of hot water as in step 2. When it has melted, stir the mixture just once until smooth - too much stirring at this stage will over-thicken it. To ice the cake, either raise it off the worktop on the upturned tin or put it (still on the rack) on to a tray to catch the drips. Pour the ganache over the centre and tip the cake to let it run down the sides evenly or spread it with a palette knife.
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For light cake
Ground almonds and breadcrumbs replace the flour, while beaten egg whites folded in at the end help to make it light. A thin layer of apricot jam adds a fruity tang to the rich, glossy chocolate ganache icing
Per Serving:
- Calories: 690
- Total carbs: 54 g
- Sugars: 46 g
- Total fat: 49 g
- Saturated fat: 24 g
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
