Flourless chocolate cherry cake

A flourless chocolate cake made with ground almonds instead of flour, topped with whipped cream and fresh black cherries. Unlike a brownie, this chocolate cake is not overly dense, but has a slightly bittersweet character that is beautifully balanced by the sweetness of ripe black cherries. Later in the season, about a month from now, you might like to try it with sour cherries instead.

Ingredients for the flourless chocolate cherry cake:

150 g butter
150 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
200 g caster sugar
80 g ground almonds
30 g cocoa powder
30 g dark or milk chocolate, grated

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the butter in a saucepan and heat until melted. Remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate and leave to stand for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth and glossy. If necessary, pass the mixture through a sieve. Leave to cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, lightly whisk together the whole eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract using a balloon whisk. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the ground almonds and sifted cocoa powder, then mix until incorporated. Finally, stir in the grated chocolate.

Line the base of a 24 cm springform tin with baking parchment. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface.

Bake at 180°C for approximately 25–30 minutes. The cake is ready when the top is set and springy to the touch. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out without traces of raw batter. Leave the cake to cool completely.

To finish:

250 ml double cream, chilled
2 teaspoons icing sugar
300 g black cherries (or sour cherries later in the season)

Place the double cream and icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the cooled cake. Stone the black cherries and arrange them on top.

Note: During hot weather, the whipped cream can be stabilised with gelatine for better firmness.

Enjoy!