My friend dave has been a little inspiration to us. A qualified doctor who was both frustrated and tired of the NHS has taken a major sabbatical. He moved out of his home (into our top floor), sold his furniture and decided to take stock on life. He indulged his coffee obsession by painstakingly learning how to perfect a flat white at a local coffee house. He watched movies about coffee. He started to make friends with serious barrista's. He read books on coffee and created recipes with coffee.
This is his cake.
For now, he's left us and gone to explore another culture. I admire his bravery and the space he gives his mind to wonder, I should like to do the same.
Flourless Chocolate & Coffee Cake
200g Almonds
200g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
175g butter
70g caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
25ml very strong espresso
Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees and grease and line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
Blitz the almonds in a food processor until just finely ground – don’t over-pulse as they will start to become sticky.
Melt the dark chocolate and butter together with the espresso in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until thick and pale – about 5 minutes with a handheld electric whisk.
Fold the chocolate mixture in to the egg and sugar mixture and then fold in the ground nuts.
In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites in to stiff peaks and then fold this in to the cake mixture.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. If you prefer a gooey chocolate pudding then remove 5 minutes beforehand for a slightly undercooked feel.
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