Flourless Chocolate Cake

Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 1 lb dark chocolate, chopped (use a good quality chocolate)
• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons frangelico or 2 tablespoons brandy
• 1 1/2 cups ground hazelnuts
• 1 cup cream, whipped
• icing sugar, to dust
• heavy cream, to serve (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 300f degrees. grease a deep 8" round cake pan and line the base with parchment paper.
• 2 half-fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. remove from heat. place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over the pan, making sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water. stir the chocolate occasionally until completely melted.
• 3 put the eggs in a heatproof bowl. add the frangelico. place the bowl over a pan of just simering water on low heat, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. using an electric mixer, beat the mixture on high for 7 minutes, or until light and foamy. remove from heat.
• 4 use a metal spoon to quickly and lightly fold the chocolate and nuts into the egg mixture until just combined. fold in the cream and pour into the cake pan.
• 5 place the cake pan in a shallow roasting pan. pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the side of the cake pan.
• 6 bake for 1 hour, or until just set.
• 7 remove cake pan from the roasting pan and allow to cool to room temperature.
• 8 cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• 9 invert the cake onto a plate and remove the parchment paper. cut cake into slices. lightly dust each slice with confectioners sugar and serve with thick cream, if desired.