passover week - flourless chocolate prune cake

passover week - flourless chocolate prune cake

• 11 Apr 2014

There are no shortage of flourless chocolate cake recipes out there but I was looking for something a little different. When I found this recipe on Sunday Suppers for a chocolate prune armagnac cake I knew I'd found what I was looking for.



As you can't use armagnac during Passover I needed to find a more prosaic substitute. I remembered seeing a recipe for tea soaked prunes somewhere in the past so I used tea instead. 



This is one of those cakes that rises terrifyingly, then sinks as it cools. Don't worry as it's all about the flavour with this cake. Here's the renovated recipe for you.

Flourless Chocolate Prune Cake

To prepare the tin

1 tbs each cocoa powder and potato flour (starch) mixed together and sieved.

Ingredients

300 g dark chocolate,coarsely chopped
200 g unsalted butter,coarsely chopped
6 eggs, separated
125 g caster sugar
150 g prunes
150 mls freshly brewed tea
pinch salt

To decorate

cocoa powder

Method

Grease and line the base of a 9 inch round tin. Flour the tin with the cocoa powder mixture.

Soak the prunes in the tea until softened, about 1 - 2 hours. Drain the prunes and using a stick blender or food processor, puree with 1 - 2 tbs of the tea. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C (conventional oven).

Melt the dark chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl in the microwave. Let cool slightly, then fold in the prune mixture. Set to one side.

Combine the yolks with 100 g of the sugar. Whisk until the mixture triples in size. Gently fold the yolks into the chocolate prune mixture.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. Add the the remaining caster sugar one spoon at a time until a soft meringue forms.

Gently fold the the egg whites into the chocolate mixture then pour into the prepared tin.

Bake the cake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the cake comes away from the tin. Leave the oven door slightly ajar and leave the cake in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to completely cool on a wire rack. Gently remove the lining paper from the cake.

Sprinkle with cocoa powder before serving.



I served the cake with some tart oven baked plums and pears and a dollop of cream to balance out the richness of the cake. It went down a treat!

Have a great weekend,

Jillian