Flourless chocolate cake has always been a favourite amongst the family. I’ve made several versions of this cake (often with raspberries or mixed berries, sometimes with olive oil instead of butter) but this recipe is by far the easiest and always works well. With cherries and a little spice it’s a beautiful dessert for this festive time of year. I love using a mix of hazelnut and almond meal as it gives this cake a subtle hazelnut flavour that reminds me of the chocolate hazelnut Swiss Christmas biscuits my mum makes. However using either almond or hazelnut meal is just as nice.

Slices of this cake also freeze well. It’s an all-round winner.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder (Dutch cocoa powder is especially nice and rich)
  • 1/3 boiling water
  • 150g butter, melted
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar (raw sugar or coconut sugar both work well. I tend to only use 1/2 cup as it makes this cake especially chocolatey and not too sweet, but if you love sweet chocolate cake I’s suggest adding 3/4 cup. Alternatively, if you use 1/2 a cup and find that the cake is not sweet enough try serving it with vanilla ice-cream or natural yoghurt and a drizzle of maple syrup, it’s beautiful)
  • 1 cup nut meal (I like to use 1/2 cup hazelnut and 1/2 cup almond meal, but using one or the other is also lovely)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ~ 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ~ 1/2 tsp. mixed spice
  • ~ 1- 1.5 cups frozen or fresh cherries (raspberries, mixed berries and strawberries also work beautifully)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius
  2. In a large bowl mix cocoa powder and boiling water until combined.
  3. Separate egg yolks from egg white – place the whites in a another mixing bowl and add the yolks to the cocoa water mix.
  4. Then, also add melted butter and sugar to the cocoa water and mix. And then add nut meal, baking powder and mix until all combined.
  5. Using an electric beater, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
  6. Add egg white to cocoa mixture and carefully and slowly fold in until just combined.
  7. Pour into your tin, and sprinkle with cherries (or other berries).
  8. Bake for 40-45mins. The cake should be ready when a test skewer comes out clean, I suggest testing at 40mins.
  9. Allow to cool before removing from tin (as it’s super moist it can break easily if removed when still hot, my impatient self has been known to do this and it usually does break!)
  10. Once cool, dust with cocoa powder or icing sugar. This cake is lovely when served with cream, Greek style natural yoghurt or vanilla ice-cream. Slices also freeze really well.

Gestational Diabetes –

This cake can be made to be very suitable for ladies with GDM. I would just suggest a few adjustments with the sugar and choice of fruit. Firstly, I would suggest using 1/4-1/3 of a cup of sugar or maple syrup and using raspberries or mixed berries instead of cherries. If using a 1/3 of a cup of maple syrup and 1.5 cups of mixed berries (frozen), and if dividing into 12 slices – 1 slice makes a very suitable snack or dessert for GDM (and I would recommend enjoying at least 2 hours after and before a meal). If unsure however, I recommend you speak with your Dietitian or feel free to reach out to me via email or social media.

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