gluten free chocolate cake
rating:thanks to Sarah Bedford for this one.
150g dark chocolate roughly grated
75g chopped prunes, soaked overnight in
75ml brandy (can swap for apple juice)
150g butter, at room temperature
150g golden caster sugar
5 large eggs, separated
150g ground almonds
for the icing:
150g dark chocolate
pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325°F, 170°C.
grease and line a 20 cm square cake tin
cream the butter and sugar until pale. Lightly beat the egg yolks together and then add them to the mixture, bit by bit. Fold in the ground almonds, grated chocolate and the chopped soaked prunes along with any of the soaking liquid.
whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks – not too stiff – and fold them into the chocolate mixture. Spread the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until it feels springy in the centre. Leave the cake to cool in the tin, then loosen the edges and turn it out on to a wire rack and strip off the lining paper, turning it the right way up afterwards.
melt the second portion of chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Spread the cake with the chocolate.
