Chocolate Amaretti Birthday Cake
by Linda Collister
Ingredients
100g Divine 70% Dark Chocolate
100g amaretti biscuits (crunchy not soft)
100g plain flour
225g unsalted soft butter
175g Fairtrade caster sugar
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon amaretto liquer or luke warm water
Divine Cocoa Powder for dusting
23cm springclip tin, greased and lined
Method
Heat oven 180c 350f gas 4. Break up chocolate, put into bowl of food processor. Run the machine to make a fine powder. Add the amaretti biscuits and run the machine again until the mixture is fine. Add the flour then run the machine or pulse briefly just to combine the ingredients. Set aside until needed.
Put the soft butter and sugar into a bowl of a food mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until light and creamy. Beat in the yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the chocolate mixture and the Amaretto or warm water.
In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Using a large metal spoon, fold the whites into the chocolate mixture in three batches. When thoroughly combined spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake in the heated oven for about 40 mins or until firm to the touch.
Remove the tin from the oven and run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the tin to loosen the cake. Carefully unclip the tin and leave the cake to cool on a wire rack. Dust with cocoa powder just before serving with whipped cream.
Store in an airtight container and eat within 4 days.
This cake is quite easy to make but looks so spectacular it’s perfect for any celebration or party
About the Chef
"Divine demonstrates that really good tasting quality chocolate improves lives."
Linda trained at two world-famous cookery schools, the Cordon Bleu in London and La Varenne in Paris. She went on to become a professional cook, spending several years working for the late Queen Mother, before becoming a food writer. Internationally renowned as a baking and chocolate expert, Linda has written more than 25 food books which have sold over 600,000 copies around the world.