Special Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake
Serves 6-8
370g bitter plain chocolate
3 tbsp dark rum
100ml espresso
4-5 tbsp warm milk
9 eggs, separated
200g caster sugar
70g cocoa powder
150ml double cream
1 vanilla pod

For the sauce
250ml milk
1 tbsp ground coffee
3 egg yolks
50g caster sugar

1 Line a springform cake tin with a cartouche of baking or silicone paper. This is most important as the cake is baked in a bain marie. Heat the oven to 130C/250F/gas mark low. Put a roasting tray in the oven and have a kettle with boiled water standing by.

2 Put the chocolate in a large bowl. Sit the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Melt the chocolate gently. Once liquid and smooth, add in the rum and espresso, then the warm milk. If the chocolate remains stiff, add a little more milk until it surrenders and becomes smooth once more.

3 Add the egg yolks to a bowl one at a time. Add the caster sugar and beat the mixture together until pale and voluminous. Beat the egg whites until peaked and stiff.

4 Sift the cocoa powder. Add one-third to the chocolate along with a third of the egg mixture. Stir until all is incorporated and smooth.

5 Decant the batter into the cake tin. Lightly smooth the surface with a palette knife or spatula. Sit the cake in the roasting tray in the oven. With great care, pour hot water from the kettle into the tray, so the tin sits in a moat of water – a classic bain marie. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

6 If in any doubt about doneness, insert a skewer to see if it is cooked through. This cake is best when slightly undercooked, so fear not should a little of the mixture adhere to the skewer.

7 With a cloth in each hand, lift the whole tray from the oven and sit upon a wire rack. Let the cake cool in the bain marie, then remove it. Exercising a little patience, take the paper from the sides and cut away. A bold heart can try and remove the base but I think it best to leave it and warn fellow companions to beware any paper. As you wish.

8 For the sauce, pour the milk into a saucepan. Add the coffee. Warm to a simmer over a gentle heat. Set aside for 30 minutes, or until infused.

9 Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Pour the infused milk on top. Return all to the pan. Stir this over a gentle heat until thickened, as for a good old-fashioned custard.

10 Once done, strain through a sieve into a bowl. Cool. Put in a jug, cover and refrigerate.

Enjoy

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