Recipe: Flourless Hazelnut Chocolate Cake by John Quilter

INGREDIENTS:

200g hazelnut meal

50g almond meal

100g white sugar

Pinch of salt

65g extra virgin olive oil

100ml Frangelico

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs - separated

70g cocoa powder

Hazelnut brittle:

250g golden caster sugar

125ml water

125g blanched hazelnuts

250g Mascarpone

3 clementine with leaves on

Allergens are marked in bold

Separate the yolks from the whites, whisk the whites until stiff peaks are formed. Mix the hazelnut and almond meal together. If you could only get whole nuts, blitz until very fine. Add all the other ingredients including the yolks into the mix.

Fold in 2/3 of the whisked whites fully. Then, carefully and with a minimum effort, add in the remaining whites. You are trying to keep as much of the air in the mixture, so fold in gently and gradually. It’s ok if you can see a little white in the mixture.

Place into a buttered 9-inch spring form baking tin and into 180° C CircoTherm oven for 25 minutes. Keep an eye on it and at the 20-minute mark, use a skewer to place into the middle. If it comes out clean, it’s cooked.

Once cooled, dust the top with icing sugar.

Mix the water and the sugar together in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved over a medium to high heat. Then allow to bubble away without stirring it, just give it a swirl. Cook until it is golden.

Have an oiled baking sheet ready to turn the mixture out on to. The mixture is molten sugar so ensure you do not touch it in anyway at any point.

Once cooked, turn out the mixture onto the tray and evenly distribute the hazelnuts over it. Cut a 1/3 of the hazelnuts in half, a 1/3 roughly chopped and a 1/3 whole. Leave to set for 30 minutes. Then smash the set into golden glass shards for garnish.

Serve the sliced cake with the brittle, a scoop of mascarpone and a grate of clementine.