Ingredients:
2 ounces dark chocolate ( 70-75% cocoa solids)
4 ounces chopped toasted hazelnuts
4 ounces butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces golden granulated sugar
2 ounces plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 fluid ounces whipping cream ( or double cream)
extra toasted nuts, roughly chopped
cocoa powder, to dust
Directions:
You will also need a baking tin, 6 x 10 x 1 inch deep, the base and sides lined with parchment paper. Make sure the paper stands up at least an inch above the edge of the tin.
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350 F (180 C).
Place the chocolate and butter together in a large, heatproof bowl fitted over a saucepan of barely simmer water, and allow the chocolate to melt, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Then beat the mixture until smooth, remove it from the heat and simply stir in all the other ingredients till thoroughly blended. Now spread the mixture evenly into the prepared tin and bake on the centre shelf for 30 minutes. Leave the cake in the tin for 15 minutes to cool, then remove it from the tin, and turn it out on to a cooling rack. Strip off the lining paper, and, when it’s absolutely cold, carefully cut the cake in half, down the centre lengthways, so you are left with two oblongs.
Now, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and spread half ot it thickly along one half of the cake. Position the other half of the cake on top, and then spread with rest of the cream all over the cake, covering it completely. then decorate with the roughly chopped nuts and, if you like, a dusting of cocoa powder. If all the cake isn’t eaten, to keep it fresh, store inside a polyurethane container in the fridge.
Servings: 8-10
Time preparation: 15 min.
Time total: 45 min.