Chocolate cake anyone?

When I ask someone what kind of cake they want for their birthday, the most common response is chocolate. That's not surprising. Chocolate is able to be sweet or bitter. It taste amazing with a pinch of salt and is the ultimate indulgence when melted and licked from a spoon.

Obviously, I love chocolate. Tonight I was supposed to go to a friend from works 30th birthday, however my lovely 2 year old decided it was finally time to share and passed his conjunctivitis to my husband and I - YUK. 

To celebrate (the birthday, not my son sharing), I thought I'd post this flourless hazelnut chocolate cake I made for another friend a few weeks back. My friend is extremely talented and made the beautiful cake bunting in the image below. Check out her Etsy shop for more of her stuff.

So, happy birthday Davos. Hope you enjoyed your night!

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

(From taste.com.au)

200g dark chocolate, chopped

150g butter, chopped

6 eggs, separated

2/3 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 cups hazelnut meal

double cream, to serve

Chocolate icing

300g dark chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup pure cream

Preheat oven to 170°C/180°C. Grease a spring base tin and line base and side with baking paper.

Combine chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until thick and creamy. Add chocolate mixture. Beat to combine. Add hazelnut meal. Beat to combine.

Place eggwhites in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until soft peaks form. Using a metal spoon, stir one-third of eggwhites into chocolate mixture. Gently fold remaining eggwhite through chocolate mixture.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Make Chocolate icing: Place chocolate and cream in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. Spread over top and side of cake. Stand for 10 minutes or until icing has set. Serve with cream.

Photo taken by Natika Cassidy