Elizabeth David's Gâteau au Chocolat
Elizabeth David's heavenly chocolate cake is super easy and perfect as both a cake and dessert.
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Servings: people
Equipment
- 1 Loose bottom round cake tin. Greased or lined with baking paper.
Ingredients
- 4 fresh eggs (separated)
- 155 g min 70% dark chocolate
- 155 g soft brown sugar
- 115 g butter
- 35 g all-purpose flour
- pinch salt
Makes: 24cm round
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C and use the warming oven to melt the chocolate and butter in an overproof dish. Set aside to cool.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and pinch of salt until pale and frothy.
- In a meticulously clean bowl, whisk the egg whites into firm peaks.
- Combine the melted chocolate/butter with the egg mixture. Add the flour using a sieve and mix. Loosen the mixture with little egg white and then carefully fold in the rest of the whites. Making sure no egg whites are showing!
- Loosen the mixture with little egg white and then carefully fold in the rest of the whites. Making sure no egg whites are showing! Quickly pour into the prepared cake tin - using the spatula to ensure an even surface.
- Bake on the middle shelf in the preheated oven 180 °C for 25 minutes. David recommends 35 minutes but over the years, I have found that a little too long. The cake should be a little gooey in the centre when you remove it from the oven. (Do the knife test - there should be a hint of cake mixture). Don't worry; it will be perfect when it cools.
- Turn the cake out as soon as it is cool enough to handle.
- Dust with icing sugar and serve with fresh fruit and cream or ice cream.
- If you are serving it as a dessert, you can also decorate it with a little melted chocolate softened with melted butter..........
