Flourless Chocolate Espresso Mud Cake

This cake is not much to look at but its taste and texture is sublime. I have adapted it from another recipe so that it is completely flourless apart from 3 tsp of cornflour, which I don’t count the same as standard wheat based flours. This also means that this cake is gluten free which means it is suitable for people on a wheat and gluten free diet – ideal for a colleague in my office who has just been advised to cut wheat from his diet. I felt sorry him and didn’t want him to miss out on the Monday Munchies and was the reason for developing this cake.

It has a thick chewy outer crust which hides an airy mousse like and incredibly rich cakey layer inside. You know the very centre of a good squishy brownie, well the whole inside of this cake is just like that – mmmm! It involves 200g of good dark chocolate along with a hit of strong coffee which produces an intensely chocolaty deeply rich flavoured and moist cake with an unbelievable aroma. Small slices are enough for an instant mood enhancing boost.

I replaced the flour with ground almonds and added a little cornflour and gluten free baking powder to help stabilize the cake. It puffs up when baking and then sinks ever so slightly on cooling. It’s best to let it cool completely in the tin as it’s quite fragile when warm.

It was devoured at work (I only got a little taste) and it would also make a wonderful dessert for a dinner party, dressed up with some drizzles of white chocolate, lightly whipped cream and plump raspberries.

I’m afraid I don’t have a picture of the inside, I thought it would be rude to cut into it before delivering it to work.

Flourless Chocolate Espresso Mud Cake
Ingredients
200g butter
200g dark chocolate 65% plus

30g cocoa powder

2 tbsp instant coffee powder

60ml water

1 tsp vanilla essence

180g caster sugar

3 eggs

100g ground almonds
3 tsp cornflour
1 tsp baking powder

Method

Grease an 8inch/20cm loose bottomed cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 160C.
Place the butter, chocolate, cocoa, coffee powder, water and vanilla essence in a medium saucepan.
Place over a low heat and melt gently until smooth, whisking every so often to make sure it all combines together smoothly.
Then set to one side to cool slightly.
Beat the sugar and eggs together using an electric mixer until thick, creamy and pale in colour.
Keep whisking and slowly add the melted chocolate mix until all incorporated.
Scatter the ground almonds, baking powder and cornflour over the surface of the batter and beat again to combine.
Pour the mix into the cake tin (it will be very liquid) and bake for 50-55 minutes until it looks puffed up and slightly cracked on top and s skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it, but no wet batter.
Leave to cool in the tin before un-moulding and devouring.It can be left at room temperature, but if you keep it in the fridge it will become denser and be more like a giant truffle.