Culpepertorte

Ingredients
Cake
250g dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa solids), broken into chunks
250g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 medium eggs, separated
200g caster sugar (or 100g caster mixed with 100g soft light brown sugar)
50g plain flour
50g ground almonds

Icing
175g dark chocolate (50-55 per cent cocoa solids)
150ml double cream
2 teaspoons glycerine
2 teaspoons smooth apricot jam

Variation
Skin of 1 orange, Julienne cut

Method
1. Grease a 23cm springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.

2. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place it over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Stir occasionally until the butter and chocolate have melted.

3. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl until well combined.

4. Stir the melted chocolate and butter into the egg and sugar mixture. Combine the flour and almonds and fold these in, too.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they hold firm peaks. Stir a large spoonful of egg white into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, then carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites with a large metal spoon or spatula, trying to keep in as much air as possible.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Place in an oven preheated to 170°C (gas mark 3) and bake for about 30 mins, until only just set.

7. It should still wobble slightly in the centre – this means the cake will have a divinely sticky, fudgy texture once it’s cooled down. Leave to cool for 10-15 mins before releasing the tin.

8. Now warm the apricot jam and brush the cake all over with it. Next, to make the icing, melt the chocolate with the cream, again in a bowl over simmering water. Then remove the bowl from the heat, and stir in the glycerine, to give a coating consistency. Pour the icing over the whole cake, making sure it covers the top and the sides completely. Then leave it to set, which will take 2-3 hours.

Variation
9. Boil julienne strips for 1 – 2 min in water to remove bitter taste. Drain. Make basic / stock syrup and boil / drain strips again. While hot and wet, mix / roll in sugar and dry. When dry add tastefully to top of cake, before set.