Although I first came up with this recipe because I had someone coming for supper who - genuinely - couldn't eat wheat or dairy, it is so meltingly good, I now make it all the time for those whose life and diet are not so unfairly constrained, myself included.
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 150g ground almonds / 1½ cups almond meal with 125g plain flour / ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour. This has the built-in bonus of making it perhaps more suitable for an everyday cake.
Made with the almonds, it has more of supper-party pudding feel about it and I love it still a bit warm, with some raspberries or some such on the side, as well as a dollop of mascarpone or ice cream.
Recipe posted by Nigella
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Just made this cake and oh my goodness ... it's good!
Posted by Silverspotty on 23rd Sep 2012 at 14.25
I just made it, I am actually eating it warm right now with vanilla ice cream on top that melts as I type. Its the best cake I ve ever tasted ! The recipe can handle some changes as well. I used the almond version, aside from vanilla extract I added one tea spoon of almond extract. Increased the cacao amount a little. Result: Dark as night, light as a fairy, spongy like a dream. Loving it!
Posted by cey on 23rd Sep 2012 at 16.36
I made this on Sunday when we had relatives over. A different lot of relatives are coming over tomorrow and it's on the menu again! A lovely light and fairly healthy cake. Goes well with a dollop of natural yoghurt.
Posted by teagirl27 on 10th Oct 2012 at 21.03
Just made this with my mum for our village Harvest Festival. Went down very well. First time making it, and no hitches. So easy, and tastes divine. Made a Red Berry Sauce to pour over. Thank you Nigella. You make cooking exquisite.
Posted by stargirls on 15th Oct 2012 at 16.09
This cake recipe went down particularly well with the men-folk in our home. I think because it's chocolately, moist and relatively healthy; and steers away from the usual light, fluffy-style of cake. A note of caution, however: use olive oil, not extra virgin olive oil. I made this mistake the first time around. The flavour of extra virgin can be a bit overwhelming! Hannah, http://nr11blog.wordpress.com
Posted by nr11blog.wordpress.com on 18th Oct 2012 at 13.23
As a Coeliac I am always on the search for new recipes and this is FANTASTICO! Just had a slice, all warm and soft!
Posted by annie1952 on 10th Nov 2012 at 14.19
I just have an electric hand whisk. Is it ok to use for this in place of the paddle? Excuse the ignorance not too experienced on the baking front!
Posted by debbie72 on 25th Nov 2012 at 22.11
I've made this several times now and to such great success the recipe has been passed on to several people as an alternative dessert for Christmas. I even demo'd it in my kitchen on Saturday and got my mates to measure it all out and make it whilst I was making Macaroni cheese souffle. Gorgeous chocolate cake!
Posted by CakeyFiction on 17th Dec 2012 at 16.46
Just made this for the second time. Delicious cake and technically very easy to do.
Posted by Docroddy on 19th Dec 2012 at 19.34
Just made this gorgeous cake with my little daughter Annabel. What a great success! So light and really chocolatey. A great Mother/Daughter experience! She wants to make it for all her friends. Now for another piece....YUM!
Posted by New888 on 14th Jan 2013 at 11.28
I whisked up one of these for our Little Christmas pud last weekend. For a family with three gluten freebies, it worked an absolute treat. I served the cake with a crumbling of pistachios on top, which added a lovely crunch, and with a serving too of your decadent coffee ice cream, to which I also added a dash of amaretto (it was Christmas, after all). Many thanks.
Posted by EmilyFitz on 14th Jan 2013 at 13.25
I used this recipe to make 14 generous size cupcakes. I used the plain flour option and seeds from one vanilla pod as I did not have any vanilla essence. These are the most delicious, moist chocolatey cup cakes. I don't really eat sweets and I have eaten 5 in 24 hours!! Also, I cheated with the topping and combined some melted rich Italian chocolate with whole hazelnuts, with a little icing sugar and hot water. A perfect top to a delicious cake.
Posted by Tina Finland on 22nd Jan 2013 at 14.57
I've made this cake a few times and always gorgeous. The last 2 times I haven't had any olive oil and used rapeseed oil instead and it tasted just as good, is it ok to keep using rapeseed oil?
Posted by spitbank on 8th Feb 2013 at 17.08
I made this using half almonds, half whole meal flour and it turned out wonderfully! It's not too rich but has a lovely soft texture and stays moist for days! Would be great with some sauce over the top.
Posted by bec_l on 26th Feb 2013 at 21.36
Wonderful recipe! I made the almond version and it is so delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Posted by peanut on 24th Mar 2013 at 8.00
Absolutely divine. Love it.
Posted by maddy168 on 1st Apr 2013 at 4.49
The cake is DIVINE! More like a browny, slightly crispy on the outside, and perfectly gooey on the inside. A word of warning: once you start eating it, you will not stop till it's gone. 100% addictive, esp., when it's warm. I made it twice now, each time with sunflower oil (canola would be also a great substitute). Also 2nd time I used 20% less oil. If using extra/large eggs, use a bit less water for the cocoa mixture, so the overall consistency is not too runny. Easily microwavable for the warm experience (with vanilla ice-cream!) but once out of the oven there will be none left to reheat!
Posted by Cooking Squirrel on 2nd Apr 2013 at 13.55
I have made this cake several times now, and the whole family (plus several friends) all love it. Mine has now evolved into a double layer sandwiched together with chocolate ganache. It never lasts long!!
Posted by rtamck on 8th Apr 2013 at 19.52
Make this for a monthly "dine a round" we have in our community - I took the liberty of soaking strawberries, blueberries, and figs in grand marnier and scattered them over the top with some freshly whipped cream I am not god of the desserts in our group. Thanks always to my patrion saint Lady Nigella.
Posted by eianholt on 5th May 2013 at 8.55