Gluten-free chocolate and hazelnut heart cake
Get in the mood for love with John Whaite's romantic and sweet chocolate and hazelnut cake - great for those trying to impress a loved one on a gluten-free diet!
(Serves 12)
Ingredients:
200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped300g blanched hazelnuts150g dark muscovado sugar150g golden caster sugar6 eggs, separated
For the ganache:
250g dark chocolate220ml double cream30g salted butter, softenedGood quality cocoa powder, to sieve
Equipment:
23cm/9-inch loose-bottomed cake tin, greased and lined with baking paperCardboard, to make a template (optional)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/Gas 3
Slowly melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water
Blitz the hazelnuts in a food processor until roughly chopped, then add the muscovado and caster sugar and blitz again to a fine sand. Blitz in the egg yolks and one white; this will be a very stiff batter indeed. When well incorporated, beat in the melted chocolate and set to one side.
Put the egg whites into a clean bowl and whisk them until they are at a medium peak. Spoon a quarter of the egg white on to the batter and beat in to incorporate, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45–50 minutes. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out reasonably clean, but the best indication of whether it's done is a smooth top with perhaps a few cracks, and a subtle springiness to the cake when gently prodded.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin
To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Put the cream in a small saucepan and heat on high until it begins to bubble around the edges. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and leave for 30 seconds to melt it, then, with a whisk, stir until smooth. Beat in the butter until incorporated, then pour onto a plate to cool until spreadable.
When the cake has cooled, remove it from the tin and place it on a cake stand or platter. Spread the ganache generously over the entire surface – as neatly or as messily as desired.
To make the heart template, take a piece of card and cut into a circle the same size as the cake. Draw heart shapes on the card according to taste and carefully cut out the hearts. Place the template on top of the cake, and sprinkle generously with cocoa, then carefully remove the template.
Tip: creating a ‘lifting’ handle on the cardboard template will make it easier to lift the template from the cake