Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake

I know it may seem like all I ever do is bake sweet things (mostly chocolate sweet things) and eat them, but I really don't... I do love to bake, but generally I only make decadent things like this for special occasions, like Mother's Day or birthdays or when friends come to visit. And I only eat a tiny bit - there's always plenty of people willing to help eat it. And I tweak them to make them healthier. So I hope you'll excuse me for posting another one, and I promise to post something healthier next time! :)

This is my take on the classic French flourless chocolate, coffee and almond cake. I love it, because it's grain free, and I love nut flour cakes as they stay moist for days. I made mine with walnuts instead of almonds - you could use almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts, and pecans would probably work well too.  Unlike my Flourless Pecan Cake, however, this one isn't a light cake - it's a dense, fudgey cake, delicious for dessert with some berries and maybe a drizzle of cream (cashew cream, for me!)... And just for fun, you can also make mini Flourless Espresso Cakes like these ones I made for my friend's 'birthday cake', covered in chocolate ganache. She loved them!

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 F). Butter (or grease with coconut oil) a 20cm round cake tin, sift cocoa over the butter so cake won't stick, and set aside.

1. Insert the butterfly into the Thermomix bowl and whip the egg whites and cream of tartar on speed 4 until stiff - about 3 minutes:

- 5 egg whites

- a pinch of cream of tartar

   Set aside and clean out Thermomix bowl, drying well.

2. Grind up nuts on speed 9 until fine - don't overdo it, or they'll be too oily. About 8-10 seconds should be enough. Set aside.

- 100g raw walnuts or almonds or hazelnuts

3. Grind up Rapadura until fine, about 30 seconds on speed 9:

- 150g Rapadura

4. Add the chocolate, broken into pieces, and grind on speed 9 until fine:

- 200g dark, bitter chocolate (I use 70% cocoa Lindt chocolate)

5. Add coffee, essence, and butter/ghee and melt at 50 degrees, 3 minutes, speed 2:

- 2 Tablespoons very strong espresso coffee, liquid not instant (or 3 Tablespoons instant coffee)

- 1 tsp rum or brandy essence (or a tablespoon of the real thing)
- 150g butter or coconut oil

6. Add ground nuts and mix well on speed 5 for 10 seconds.

7. With motor still running on speed 5, add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well between each one:
- 5 egg yolks

8. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the beaten egg whites to the mixture and mix in on speed 3. Scrape mixture into a large bowl, and gently fold in the rest of the egg whites with a rubber spatula.

Before folding in egg whites

After folding in egg whites

9. Turn mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40 - 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool before removing from cake tin. Don't worry if the crust cracks and collapses a bit, that's normal.

10. Dust with a little icing sugar to serve (made in the Thermomix, of course!)... and I like to top it with some raspberries and mini rapadura-sweetened choc chips too. :)