Rich Chocolate Cake

We got this recipe online at http://gourmettraveller.com.au/rich_chocolate_cake.htm. It is by Lisa Featherby and it is yummy, the smell of chocolate wafts through the house when you are baking this.

We chose this because we wanted something dense under sugar paste and decorations.

Her recipe is more comprehensive with ganache but we didn't need that much this time. In the picture you may see some white flecks as I didn't mix the chocolate with the egg whites well enough!

Ingredients

300 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), melted

175 g butter, softened

100 g caster sugar

5 eggs, separated

80 gm sifted plain flour

Pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 160C. 

Grease and line an 18cm-diameter springform cake pan, then grease baking paper base, dust with flour and shake pan to remove excess. It is important to have the baking paper on the base as because its quite a dense cake it will stick to the pan and not come off without it.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar for 5 minutes or until pale and creamy. With motor running, add egg yolks, one at a time, beating briefly between each addition to incorporate.

Add flour, beat to combine, add half the melted chocolate. Beat until half incorporated, then fold through remaining chocolate.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggwhites with salt until soft peaks form. Fold one-third of eggwhites through chocolate mixture to loosen, then fold through remaining eggwhite, taking care not to overwork. 

Spoon mixture into prepared pan and bake in centre of oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted withdraws clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack, then remove sides of pan and invert onto a cake stand.