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1
Preparation: Line the cake tin with paper, chop the chocolate, leave the butter at room temperature to soften.
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2
Mix the plain flour and cocoa powder and then sift.
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3
Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl and put the bowl over a bain-marie to melt the chocolate.
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4
Add the cream and stir until smooth.
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5
Remove the bowl from the bain-marie and leave to cool.
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6
Do not let the chocolate cool too much.
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7
Otherwise the chocolate will harden and it will be difficult to mix with other ingredients at the next step.
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8
Cream the butter and add the powdered sugar.
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9
Whip until fluffy.
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10
Add one egg yolk at one time and whisk constantly to incorporate air.
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11
Add the cooled chocolate to Step 3 and whisk.
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12
Make the meringue.
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13
Put the egg whites in a bowl and add the sugar in 2 to 3 batches.
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14
Whisk until stiff peaks form (until the meringue doesn't drop when you hold the bowl upside-down.)
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15
Scoop 1/4 of the meringue with a spatula and add to the chocolate mixture.
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16
Combine gently and lightly.
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17
Add the sifted flour and cocoa powder and stir until everything is mixed well.
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18
Add the liquor (or milk) and loosen the batter.
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19
Add the rest of meringue and fold in evenly.
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20
Pour the batter into a cake tin lined with paper and flatten the surface.
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21
Bake in an oven pre-heated to 160C for about 50 minutes.
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22
It'll ready when you insert a skewer in a crack on the cake and it comes out without uncooked batter.
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23
Remove the cake tin from the oven and drop the tin when you hold.
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24
Leave to cool the cake in the tin.
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25
After it's cooled down remove the cake from the tin and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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26
If you melt the chocolate and butter at the same time (this is a normal procedure for making a chocolate cake), the cake will shrink a lot and won't look as nice.
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27
With this method the air is incorporated in the cake evenly and you will have a thick cake.
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28
On the day you make the cake it is soft and the next day it will be dense and moist.
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29
It will be tasty on either day.
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30
This is a rich cake so I made the 18-cm cake less thick, compared to a 15-cm cake.
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31
The baking time is the same.
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32
If you like, you can fill the baking tray with some hot water and place the baking tin with the batter on top -- this will make it extra moist and soft.
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33
It won't burn easily so it will be nice for those who don't like the slight bitterness of chocolate.
