Death by chocolate

I'm taking a break from the mammoth menu as even I'm bored of it so god knows what you guys think. As I said at the start of my blog, I have a lot of nice foodie things that I want to share stored up and as I have a free evening I'm trying to catch up a little. I think this recipe will go down really well and is really good for many occasions; birthdays, Easter or just for when that craving for something really rich and chocolatey kicks in. I made mine at Easter so made it in to some kind of nest creation with eggs in, however you can easily just use fresh berries to cut through the richness of the cake. This recipe is also really good for Celiacs or people who can't have gluten as it doesn't have any flour in at all, making it a really light cake. 



Death by Chocolate
makes 1 medium cake


For the sponge:
300g good-quality dark chocolate
150g unsalted butter, diced
5 medium free-range eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g caster sugar


For the topping:
200g good-quality dark chocolate
100ml double cream


You will also need a 22cm springclip tin greased with butter and the base lined with greaseproof paper.


Preheat the oven to 180°c/350°F/gas 4. Break up the chocolate and put it into a heatproof bowl with the butter. Set over a pan of steaming hot but not boiling water and leave it to melt, stirring frequently. Don't let the base of the bowl touch the water either or your chocolate will burn. Once melted, remove from the heat and let it cool while you whisk up the eggs. 
Break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk with the vanilla briefly to break up, then add the sugar and whisk on full power until pale, very thick and mousse-like and about 5 times the original volume. It will take about 5 minutes and once ready will leave a ribbon shape when the whisk is lifted out the bowl. Add the melted chocolate to the eggs and gently but thoroughly fold in with a metal spoon. 
Pour in to the tin and bake for 35 to 45 minutes until firm to the touch. Make sure it is still slightly moist in the centre as its hard to cut if over cooked. Remove from the tin once cooled (you may need to cut it out) and invert on to the plate so the flat bottom becomes the top. Melt the chocolate and cream together in the same way as before to make the topping but only until half the chocolate is melted. Once you get to this stage take it off the heat and beat until glossy. Pour over your delicious chocolate cake and decorate. I added some finely grated chocolate to get the nest effect.