Italian Chocolate and Nut Cake (Panforte)

Submitted by KWB5015

"Just saw this on five's Cooking the Books and wanted to hang onto it. It comes from Fantastico! recipe book by Gino D'Acampo. I love the idea of a quick chocolate fix that looks elegant and doesn't require cooking! Cooking time = cooling time, 2 hours for 'cake' to set, then another hour for the topping to set. (Note: contains raw egg whites)"

 

• Ready In: 3hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 250 g dark chocolate
• 3 medium egg whites
• 50 g candied peel
• 200 g ground almonds
• 100 g walnuts, crushed
• 50 hazelnuts, crushed
• 200 g icing sugar
• 4 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
• 100 g dark chocolate (for topping)
• 70 g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting (for topping)

directions

1. Melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, ensuring that the base of the bowl does not touch the water
2. Use a fork to beat the egg whites in a large bowl for 2 minutes. Add in the peel, ground almonds, the nuts, icing sugar and Amaretto. Mix well, then very gently fold in the melted chocolate.
3. Line a circular flan dish measuring about 18cm across and 3sm deep with clingfilm. Pour in the mixture and set aside for 2 hours.
4. To make the topping, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, ensuring that the base of the bowl does not touch the water
5. Melt the icing sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan over a low heat. Stir to check the sugar has melted, then add the chocolate to make a syrup.
6. Turn out the cake onto a plate and peel off the clingfilm. Use a spatula to cover the surface with the chocolate syrup. Set aside for 1 hour until the chocolate has hardened.
7. Serve in slices, dusted with icing sugar, with a cup of your favourite tea.