5 oz Regular olive oil (150 ml);
-plus extra for greasing
2 oz Cocoa powder (50 g); sifted
4 oz Water (125 ml); boiling
2 ts Vanilla extract
5 oz Ground almonds (150 g) -OR-
4 oz Plain flour (125 g)
1/2 ts Bicarbonate of soda
1 pn Salt
7 oz Caster sugar (200 g)
3 Free-range eggs
Preheat the oven to 170 C/325 F/Gas 3. Grease a 23 cm / 9"
springform cake tin with a little oil and line the base with baking
parchment.
Measure and sift the cocoa powder into a bowl or jug and whisk in the
boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but
only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to
cool a little.
In another smallish bowl, combine the ground almonds (or flour) with
the bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt.
Put the sugar, olive oil, and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding
mixer with the paddle attachment (or other bowl and whisk arrangement
of your choice) and beat together vigorously for about three minutes
until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream.
Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating
as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the
ground almonds (or flour) mixture.
Scrape down and stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark,
liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until
the sides are set and the very centre, on top, still looks slightly
damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky
chocolate crumbs clinging to it.
Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then
ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it
out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with
some ice cream, as a pudding.
Tips:
It is slightly heavier with the almonds though not in a bad way so if
you want a lighter crumb, rather than a squidgy interior, and are not
making the cake for the gluten-intolerant, then replace the 150 g
ground almonds with 125 g plain flour. This has the built-in bonus of
making it perhaps more suitable for an everyday cake.
