Chocolate and Chestnut Cake

Ingredients:

• 250g dark chocolate
• 250g unsalted butter
• 250g chestnuts puree
• 4 eggs
• 125g (5 oz) caster sugar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease and line a 23cm diameter springform tin.
2. Melt the dark chocolate and unsalted butter together in a pan over a very gentle heat. 
3. Separate the eggs, put the yolks in a bowl and mix with caster sugar. Stir in the chocolate mixture and the chestnut purée until you have a smooth, blended batter.
4. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them carefully into the batter. Transfer the mixture into the greased, lined cake tin and bake for 25–30 minutes, until it is just set but still has a slight wobble.

Double Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies

Ingredients:

(Makes 12)
200g unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
1 large egg
275g self-raising flour
75g cocoa powder
300g dark chocolate
a splash of milk
50g chopped hazelnuts

Method:

Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric whisk until light and creamy. Crack in an egg and mix some more, then add the dry ingredients: self-raising flour (no need to sift), cocoa powder and chocolate bars broken down into squares. Things might seem a little dry at this point so add a few drops of milk to combine the mixture into more of a dough if needed.

Line two trays with baking paper, scoop the mixture into 12 handfull size balls and place far apart on the tray. Put in a preheated fan oven at 220°C (200°C for non-fan) for 10 minutes. They will be very soft still when you remove them, but leave them to cool for around 30 minutes and they will stiffen up.

Banana, chocolate and walnut cake

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas , peeled
250g caster sugar
2 eggs
140g softened butter
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
100g walnut pieces
100g good quality (70%) chocolate chopped

Method:

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment. 

In a large bowl, mash together the bananas and the sugar with the back of a fork. Add the eggs and mix well with an electric hand whisk until fully incorporated, then add the butter and mix for a couple mins more to blend everything together. 

Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold together with a spatula, then add the walnuts and chocolate chips. Give everything one final mix before tipping into the lined loaf tin.

Bake for 1 hr 5 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then turn out and serve cut into thick slices, either warm or at room temperature. 

Spice Cookies

Makes 16

Ingredients:

125g currants
2 tbsp brandy
240g plain flour
½ tbsp best-quality cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp each ground cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
150g good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely grated
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
½ tsp grated lemon zest
½ tsp grated orange zest
½ medium free-range egg
1 tbsp diced candied citrus peel
Glaze:
3 tbsp lemon juice
160g icing sugar

Method:

1. Soak the currants in the brandy for 10 minutes. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, and dark chocolate. 

2. In a separate bowl beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and lemon and orange zest to combine but don't aerate much, about 1 minute. With the mixer or beater running, slowly add the egg and mix for about 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients, followed by the currants and brandy. Mix until everything comes together.

3. Gently knead the dough in the bowl with your hands until it is uniform. Divide the dough into 50g chunks and roll each chunk into a perfectly round ball. Place the balls on 1 or 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them about 2cm apart, and let rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, until the top firms up but the center is still soft. Remove from the oven. Once the cookies are out of the oven, allow to cool for only 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. 

5. While the cookies are still warm, whisk together the glaze ingredients until a thin and smooth icing forms. Pour a tablespoon of the glaze over each cookie, leaving it to drip and coat the cookie with a very thin, almost transparent film. You may want to repeat this step for a thicker glaze. Top each cookie with 3 pieces of candied peel placed at the center. Leave to set and then serve, or store in an airtight container for a day or two.

(Courtesy of Ottolenghi)

Chocolate Brownies

• Ingredients:
• 
  
• 300g soft brown sugar
• 250g butter
• 250g chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids)
• 3 large eggs plus 1 extra egg yolk
• 60g flour
• 60g finest quality cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 100g chopped hazelnuts and walnuts
• A 23x23cm, preferably non-stick, or a small roasting tin
• 
  

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C

2. Break the chocolate into pieces, set 50g of it aside and melt the rest in a bowl suspended over, but not touching, a pan of simmering water. As soon as the chocolate has melted remove it from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Chop the remaining 50g into gravel-sized pieces.

3. Beat the sugar and butter until white and fluffy.

4. Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Introduce the beaten egg a little at a time.

5. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the melted chocolate, chopped chocolate and the nuts.

6. Lastly, fold in the flour and cocoa, gently and firmly, without knocking any of the air out. Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth the top and bake for 30 minutes. The top will have risen slightly and the cake will appear slightly softer in the middle than around the edges. A knife should come out sticky, but not with raw mixture attached to it. If it does, then return the brownie to the oven for three more minutes. It is worth remembering that it will solidify a little on cooling, so if it appears a bit wet, don't worry.

(Courtesy of Nigel Slater)

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Ingredients:

250g beetroot

200g fine dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids)

4 tbsp hot espresso (optional)

200g butter

135g SR flour

a heaped tsp baking powder

3 tbsp good-quality cocoa powder

5 eggs

190g golden caster sugar

crème fraîche and poppy seeds, to serve

1. Cook the beetroot, whole and unpeeled, in boiling unsalted water. Depending on their size, they will be knifepoint tender within 30 to 40 minutes. Young ones may take slightly less. Drain them, let them cool under running water, then peel them, slice out their stem and root, and blitz to a rough purée.

2. Lightly butter a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with a disc of baking parchment. Set the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

3. Melt the chocolate, snapped into small pieces, in a small bowl resting over a pot of simmering water. Don’t stir. When the chocolate looks almost melted, pour the hot coffee over it and stir once. Cut the butter into small pieces – the smaller the better –and add to the melted chocolate. Dip the butter down under the surface of the chocolate with a spoon (as best you can) and leave to soften.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Separate the eggs; put the whites in a mixing bowl. Stir the yolks together.

5. Now, working quickly but gently, remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat and stir until the butter has melted into the chocolate. Leave for a few minutes, then stir in the egg yolks. Do this quickly, mixing firmly so the eggs blend into the mixture. Fold in the beetroot. 

6. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold in the sugar. Firmly but tenderly fold the beaten egg whites and sugar into the chocolate mixture. A large metal spoon is what you want; work in a deep, figure-of-eight movement but take care not to over-mix. Fold in the flour and cocoa.

7. Transfer quickly to the prepared cake tin and put in the oven, turning the heat down immediately to 160C/gas mark 3. Bake for 40 minutes. The rim of the cake will feel spongy, the inner part should still wobble a little when gently shaken.

8. Leave to cool (it will sink a tad in the centre), loosening it around the edges with a palette knife after half an hour or so. It is not a good idea to remove the cake from its tin until it is completely cold. Serve in thick slices, with crème fraîche and poppy seeds.

(Courtesy of Nigel Slater)

Ottolenghi's Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ingredients:

240g unsalted butter cut into small cubes

265g dark chocolate (52% cocoa solids) cut into small pieces

95g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) cut into small pieces

290g light muscovado sugar

4 tablespoons water

5 large eggs (separated)

pinch of salt

cocoa powder for dusting

Method:

Preheat your oven to 170°C.  Grease a 20cm springform cake tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.

Place the butter and  both types of chocolate in a vary large heatproof bowl - it should be big enough to accommodate the entire mix. 

Put the brown sugar and water in a small saucepan, stir to mix, then bring to the boil over a medium heat.  Pour the boiling syrup over the butter and chocolate and stir well until they are melted and you are left with a runny chocolate sauce. 

Stir in the egg yolks, one at a time.  Set aside until the mixture comes to room temperature.

Put the egg whites and salt in a large bowl and whisk to a firm, but not o dry meringue.  Using a rubber spatula or large metal spoon, gently fold the meringue into the cooled chocolate mixture a third at a time.  The whites should be fully incorporated but there is no harm if you can see small bits of meringue in the mix.

Pour 800g (two thirds) of the mixture into the prepared cake tin and level gently with a palate knife.  Leave the rest of the batter for later.  Place the cake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until a skewer comes out almost clean.  Remove from the oven and lave to cool completely.

Flatten the top of the cake with a palette knife.  Don’t worry about breaking the crust.  Pour the rest of the batter on top and level the surface again.  Return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

The cake should still have moist crumbs when checked with a skewer.  Lave to cool completely before removing from the tin.  Dust with coco powder and serve