The Devil’s Chocolate 

Cake

This recipe is in conjunction and support of ‘National Chocolate Cake Day’, which is taking place in Britain today.  Put the diets to one side just this once, as this indulgence is in the name of queen and country!

Lord Kitchener - 'Your country needs you!'

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

250g butter (extra for greasing)

250g caster sugar

180g self-raising flour

120g grounded almonds

400g plain dark chocolate

6 eggs, separated

2tsp vanilla essence

2tbsp water

50ml Baileys

For the icing:

100g dark chocolate

50g cocoa powder

500g icing sugar

250g butter – must be really soft

2tbsp milk

To decorate (optional)

600g brown and white Maltesers

Method

v  Preheat the oven to 180’C.

v  Grease two sandwich 8 inch cake tins with butter.

v  Put the chocolate into a bowl with the butter and water, and place over a saucepan of simmering water for a few minutes, stirring until the all the ingredients have melted. (Cook’s note ~ make sure the simmering water does not touch the bowl, or the chocolate will curdle)

v  Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

v  Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and to avoid arm-ache, whisk together using an electric whisk. Whisk until fluffy.

v  Stir in the chocolate mixture, Baileys and vanilla essence and then carefully fold in the grounded almonds, followed by the flour.

v  In a separate bowl, again using an electric whisk, whisk the egg whites until stiff.

v  Fold into the rest of the mixture until it has all combined.

v  Pour the mixture equally between the two tins and put in the oven and bake for 30minutes until the middle is cooked. To test this, pock a skewer or knife into the middle of the cake and if it comes out clear, the cake is cooked. However, if it comes out with cake mixture on it, pop it back into the oven for a further 5 minutes and then repeat the process until it’s cooked.

v  Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack until it has completely cooled.

v  To make the icing, put the chocolate with a  little water into a bowl and melt over a saucepan of simmering water – stirring constantly. (Cook’s note ~ Remember to make sure the simmering water does not touch the bowl, or the chocolate will curdle)

v  Put the icing sugar, butter and milk into a food processor and blitz until creamy and fluffy.

v  Stir in the melted chocolate and mix until all the ingredients have combined together.

v  Put one of the cakes onto a plate or a cake stand and put a third of the icing on top - spreading around. (Cook’s note ~ be careful not to put too much icing into the middle of the cake or spread too close to the edge because once you add the second cake, the weight will push all the filling out)

v  Place the second half of the cake on top and spread the rest of the icing around until the cake is completely covered. If you are not decorating the cake further, make some artistic swirls in the icing using a knife.

v  Line the cake with Maltesers, starting from the bottom and working your way up and around – avoid allowing any gaps between each one.