EASTER Chocolate torte

200g 70% Cocoa dark Chocolate (Whittiker’s Dark Ghana) perfect.

200g Butter

200g Soft brown sugar

4 large Eggs

50g Plain Flour

50g Ground Almonds

Dutch Cocoa/icing sugar for dusting

Mini Eggs for Decorating

23cm Spring form/loose bottomed cake tin

Method

Grease and line your cake tin.

Oven at 180oC

by Louize Juniper

Break up chocolate and put in heavy based saucepan with the butter, put on a low heat to gently melt together. Whilst the chocolate and butter are melting beat together in a large bowl the eggs and sugar until they become thick and creamy. This can take 3 to 5 mins depending on your beating speed.

Once the chocolate and butter have melted and are smooth and glossy put to one side to cool.

Measure out the flour and ground almonds, add a pinch of salt too.

With a large spoon, fold in the chocolate mix with the flour mix to the egg and sugar, in a folding in action. Do not over mix as this will push out all the air from your mixture. Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for 40 mins.

An even slight crust should form on the top.

Leave to cool, then remove from tin.

I like to chill it before removing from base.

Serve at room temperature with a berry couli, yoghurt or cream.

Enjoy & Happy Easter

BERRY COULI

500g Frozen Berries

½ cup Caster sugar

1 Cinnamon Stick (optional)

Splash Vanilla Essence

2 Tabsp Cornflour

Put the frozen Berries, cinnamon stick, sugar and vanilla in a heavy base saucepan and put on a gentle heat, letting the berries defrost whilst dissolving the sugar. Once the berries are soft and the sugar has dissolved, and a good amount of liquid has developed remove from the heat. Remove cinnamon stick.

Mix the cornflour in a small bowl with ¼ cup of cold water. Stir well. Pour the berry juice over the cornflour mix stirring all the time then transfer back to the saucepan.

Transfer back to the heat and while constantly stirring bring to a boil and cook out the cornflour. The berry mix will start to thicken and gloss up, remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl and leave to cool.