Chocolate, hazelnut and whisky cake

Sep 11 2009 by Bill Oldfield, The Journal

ANOTHER favourite from our restaurants, this simple-to-bake cake dessert makes you wonder why we don’t cook more of this stuff at home. Apart from tasting superb, it gives you a great feeling of satisfaction.

We’d tend to use a chocolate containing 50% cocoa solids for something like this. 70% might be the posh chocolate, but it can be a little bitter in larger amounts.

We also usually serve this cake cold, but it would warm through very easily. Because of its butter and sugar content, just a few seconds per portion in the microwave would be enough to make a totally different dish.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

250g butter – slightly softened

250 caster sugar

Six eggs

250g chocolate

125g ground almonds

100g stale breadcrumbs

50ml of your favourite (or cheapest) whisky

For the chocolate icing:

Two tablespoons of honey

25g butter

100g chocolate

100g hazelnuts – roughly crushed

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

To make the cake, first melt the chocolate by breaking it into pieces and placing it in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, cream the butter with the caster sugar until creamy white. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one until properly incorporated. Don’t worry if the mixture appears to split; it’ll all come good in the end.

Fold the melted chocolate into the mixture followed by the crushed almonds and the breadcrumbs.

Spoon the mixture into a buttered and floured 20cm/8inch cake tin or maybe a suitable loaf tin.

Bake in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes until firm to the touch. To be sure it’s cooked, pierce with a skewer and if it comes out wet, return the cake to the oven for an extra few minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for ten minutes or so before taking out of the tin.

Using a fork, prick the cake all over the top going at least half way down. Then slowly pour the whisky over the cake and allow it to be absorbed.

To make the icing, place the honey, butter and chocolate in a small pan and gently heat until melted before stirring in the crushed hazelnuts. Spread the nutty icing over the cake and allow to set.

To serve, cut into individual portions and alongside place maybe a little whipped cream, clotted cream, ice cream or, my favourite, crème fraîche.

Oldfields Restaurants cookbook, Passion for Real Food, is out now and available in good bookshops. For discounted copies contact us at the restaurants on Dean Street in Newcastle on (0191) 212-1210 or Claypath, in Durham on (0191) 370-9595 or go to www.oldfieldsrestaurants.com