Nuts about Chocolate cake!

Chocolate cake is probably the world's most popular dessert and even thought everyone has their own recipe and interpretation, what it boils down to is a mouthful of gooey chocolate cake.

Most recipes are fairly complicated; eggs are whipped separately and the egg whites need to be folded in carefully at the end, making sure that the batter doesn't collapse, which can potentially ruin the cake. Done right - they taste like a slice of heaven.

This recipe is relatively easy and tastes just as good. Sometimes there are days when I just don't feel inclined to stand in the kitchen for hours baking, so I take short cuts and I don't think there's anything wrong with that - I get my cake and eat it too!

This is an interpretation of a recipe by Nick Malgieri from his chocolate cookbook. Minute changes as they are, I like taking liberties and playing with recipes and the end product is usually more in my personal style. in this recipe I have used just brown sugar and I toasted my almonds which added a nice crunch and flavor to the cake.

Recipe for Fudgy Almond cake:

1 cup sliced almonds + 1/4 cup for the topping

2 sticks butter (1 cup)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 -2 tablespoons instant coffee

1/2 tsp almond essence

4 eggs

1 cup flour

8 oz dark chocolate melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the slivered almonds on an oven tray and toast till crisp and golden. Meanwhile spray a 9 inch cake pan with cooking spray.

2. Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy and light.

3. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating and scraping the bowl between each.

4. Mix in the coffee and almond essence and finally the chocolate. The batter should be smooth.

5. Add in a cup of the almonds and the flour and combine well. Avoid over-beating as this will make the cake more dense and bready.

6. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. The centre may appear soft - this is okay. it should not be runny.

7. Cool and remove from the pan and cover in ganache. Top with the remaining toasted almonds.

Ganache:

Equal parts whipping cream and chocolate

Heat the cream in a pan and bring to a quick boil. Remove from heat and add in the chocolate. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and mix well. This will thicken as it cools.