Chocolate Cassis cake

An intensely chocolatey cake made with Cassis liqueur, a blackcurrant liqueur, and finished with a silky chocolate glaze. Its texture is like a brownie, but it’s lighter, delicately airy and wonderfully moist. Best of all, it’s completely flourless. Chocolate and blackcurrant are a particularly wonderful combination here – the deep chocolate flavour is beautifully balanced by the tartness of the fruit, while the Cassis adds an elegant, subtly fruity note. This cake is best served with fresh blackcurrants and a dollop of whipped cream. Simple, intensely chocolatey and truly special.

Ingredients for chocolate Cassis cake:

• 170 g butter
• 280 g dark chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup cocoa
• 90 ml Cassis liqueur (blackcurrant liqueur)
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup caster sugar
• a pinch of salt

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the butter in a saucepan and melt, then remove from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate, cocoa and Cassis liqueur, and stir until combined and smooth. Leave to cool slightly.

Place the eggs, sugar and salt in the bowl of a mixer and whisk until light and fluffy; the mixture should almost triple in volume. Gradually add the chocolate sauce, gently folding with a spatula until combined.

Line the base of a 23 cm round cake tin with baking paper. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.

Bake at 170°C for about 40 minutes, or until the centre of the cake feels set when tested with a skewer. Do not overbake, as you don’t want to dry out the cake. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Transfer the cake to a serving plate, pour over the chocolate Cassis glaze and top with fresh blackcurrants.

Ingredients for chocolate Cassis glaze:

• 170 g dark chocolate
• 65 ml double cream
• 45 ml Cassis liqueur (blackcurrant liqueur)

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the chopped chocolate and double cream in a bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has completely melted and the glaze is smooth and glossy.

Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the Cassis liqueur with a balloon whisk until smooth. Leave for about 10 minutes, allowing the glaze to cool and thicken slightly, then pour over the cooled cake.

Additionally:

• fresh blackcurrants, for decorating

Enjoy!

Recipe source: barefootcontessa.com.