Every couple of months we get together with three other couples for dinner. We take it in turns to host the evening and make the main course. Each couple brings something which makes it much easier for the host and hostess than when you have to do the lot.
Last Saturday everyone came to us. Fiona and Mark brought garlic prawns with apple and fennel salad. Bavette de Boeuf with Café de Paris butter was my contribution to the main course. Pommes de Terre Dauphinois, which Pennie and Rodney brought, went very well with the meat, with a few steamed sugar snap peas (mange tout) on the side.
Lynne and Brian made this Flourless Chocolate Cake using a recipe from dearly departed Australian chef Bill Granger. The raspberries and coulis are optional but add a nice splash of colour to this delicious dessert.
200g dark chocolate, chopped
125g unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed, brown sugar
100g ground hazelnuts
5 eggs, separated
To serve:
Icing sugar
Whipped cream or thick cream
32 fresh raspberries
Raspberry coulis
Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line the base of a 20 cm cake tin.
Make the ground hazelnuts by blitzing them in a food processor. If you like you can toast them lightly beforehand which adds another dimension to the flavour of this cake.
Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Choose a largish bowl so there will be room to add the other ingredients. One at a time, mix in the sugar, ground hazelnuts and egg yolks. In another clean bowl whisk the egg whites until firm peaks form. Fold them into the chocolate mixture.
Scrape mixture into cake tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until firm to touch in the middle. Cool completely then cut into 8 slices or use a small scone cutter to cut 8 circles. Lightly dust the pieces of cake with icing sugar then arrange them on serving plates with the cream, raspberries and coulis.
Serves 8
Variations: use ground almonds instead of hazelnuts. If preferred, dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder instead of icing sugar.
