Ravneet Gill's five-ingredient chocolate cake
After working as a pastry chef and writing her first book, Ravneet Gill has just been announced as Prue Leith’s replacement on Junior Bake Off.
Today, Ravneet joins us for the first time to make a chocolate cake - using just five ingredients.
Twice-baked chocolate cake
Serves: 8
Ingredients
240g/8 ½ oz dark (bittersweet) chocolate
240g/8 ½ oz/2 ¼ sticks unsalted butter
7 eggs, separated
260g/9 ¼ oz/ scant 1 ½ cups caster (superfine) sugar
15g/ ½ oz/2 ¾ tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan/190C/375F/gas mark 5 and grease a 20.5cm/8inch springform cake pan with butter and line with baking parchment
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a bain-marie, then transfer to a large mixing bowl to cool slightly
3. Put the egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a mixing bowl with 160g/5 ½ oz/ ¾ cup of the sugar. Whisk together until fluffy using the whisk attachment or a handheld electric whisk. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar to soft peaks.
4. Pour the yolks and sugar into the chocolate and butter mixture and stir together. Fold in the egg whites and sugar in three batches, then fold in the cocoa powder in two batches.
5. Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes until risen and a skewer comes out completely clean. Take out of the oven and leave to cool slightly. Turn the oven down to 160C fan/180C/350F/gas mark 4.
6. When the cake is cool, press the edges down gently so it’s flat. Pour the remaining cake mixture into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until the outer edges have risen and the middle is slightly soft and jiggly.
7. Allow to cool in the pan completely before removing. This cake is best eaten on the day it is made, but it can be wrapped and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.