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CHOCOLATE CLOUD CAKE

CHOCOLATE CLOUD CAKE

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Serves: 8-12

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  • Gluten Free
  • Nigella Recipe
  • Vegetarian

On days when I want the warmth of the hearth rather than the hurly burly of the city streets I stay in and read cookery books, and this recipe comes from just the sort of book that gives most succour, Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax. The cake itself is as richly and rewardingly sustaining: a melting, dark, flourless, chocolate base, the sort that sinks damply on cooling; the fallen centre then cloudily filled with softly whipped cream and sprinkled with cocoa powder. As Richard Sax says, "intensity, then relief, in each bite".

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Ingredients

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For the cake

  • 250 grams dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
  • 125 grams unsalted butter (softened)
  • 6 large eggs (2 whole, 4 separated)
  • 175 grams caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Cointreau (optional)
  • grated zest of 1 orange (optional)

For the cream topping

  • 500 ml double cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon Cointreau (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder (for sprinkling)
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Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
  2. Line the bottom of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking parchment.
  3. Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or a microwave, and then let the butter melt in the warm chocolate.
  4. Beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with 75g of the caster sugar, then gently add the chocolate mixture, the Cointreau and orange zest.
  5. In another bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the 100g of sugar and whisk until the whites are holding their shape but not too stiff.
  6. Lighten the chocolate mixture with a dollop of egg whites, and then fold in the rest of the whites. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool the cake in its tin on a wire rack; the middle will sink as it cools.
  7. When you are ready to eat, place the still tin-bound cake on a cake stand or plate for serving and carefully remove the cake from its tin. Don't worry about cracks or rough edges: it's the crater look we're going for here. Whip the cream until it's soft and then add the vanilla and Cointreau and continue whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff.
  8. Fill the crater of the cake with the whipped cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake, and dust the top lightly with cocoa powder pushed through a tea-strainer.

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  • Amazing cake, the added orange was a subtle taste. My whole family loved this cake at Easter, irresistibly rich.

    Posted by vanillabean on 25th Apr 2011 at 3.44

  • I have made this cake many times - beautiful, delicious and always a hit.

    Posted by pattyrat on 18th Dec 2011 at 19.32

  • hi i am an avid viewer of your shows and cherish every moment of watching you on TV. i would like to know what is the best replacement for eggs in cakes and deserts in general. it will be really nice if you'll help. looking forward to hearing from you.

    Posted by bhavnamehrotra on 26th Dec 2011 at 10.57

  • i have been cooking this cake for years with my children and now my son (23) makes it for his girlfriend. easiest cake to make and fab to eat.

    Posted by jeannapotter on 3rd Jan 2012 at 12.23

  • Amazing cake, it came out perfect and very tasty. Everyone loved it and very easy to make. What will be my next excuse to bake it again !!!

    Posted by PatriciaP on 8th Oct 2012 at 15.05

  • I love this cake, as does everyone who has eaten it here! It's easy to make and it seems it just cannot go wrong! I now get requests from friends/family to please make it when they come over for dinner!;-) One little remark though: I don't think it would be big enough for 12 people, we have been able to finish it with only 6...;-)

    Posted by sigver on 21st Nov 2012 at 7.35

  • Hi, does anyone know if the base of this cake can be made one day in advance? Thanks :-)

    Posted by Cat32 on 16th Jan 2013 at 16.42