Recipe: Chocolate almond cake

Chocolate almond cake. Photo / Babiche Martens

Serves 8

1 x 24cm spring-form cake tin
200g dark chocolate, chopped
180g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs, separated
1 Tbs cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups ground almonds

1 Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and lightly flour a cake tin.

2 Melt the chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir gently until the chocolate becomes smooth.

3 Cream the butter ,sugar and vanilla until pale.

4 Add the egg yolks one at a time with a spoonful of chocolate. Fold gently after each addition until the chocolate has been used.

5 Whisk the egg whites to a soft peak.

6 Sift the cocoa and ground almonds together. Fold all ingredients together.

7 Spoon into the baking tin and cook for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer is removed clean.