Recipe courtesy of The Italian Home Cook by Silvia Colloca, Macmillan Publishers, RRP $39.99
I wouldn’t call this decadent cake virtuous, but it certainly is a show-stopping dessert that is criminally easy to make. The addition of wine-roasted strawberries is, if I say so myself, sensational. The alcohol in the wine evaporates, leaving behind sweetness and an elusive mellowness, which matches incredibly well with the richness of the hazelnuts and chocolate. If you add dollops of whipped cream on top before scattering on the strawberries, you can taste paradiso (heaven).
SERVES 8–10
Ingredients
- 180 g dark chocolate (70% cacao), broken into pieces
- 125 ml (1⁄2 cup) lightly scented extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Galliano or Frangelico
- 4 eggs, at room temperature, separated
- 230 g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 250 g (2 1⁄4 cups) hazelnut meal
- pinch of salt flakes
- whipped cream, to serve (or use coconut cream for a dairy-free version)
WINE-ROASTED STRAWBERRIES
- 500 g strawberries, hulled and bigger ones cut in half
- 80 g (1⁄3 cup) caster sugar
- 2 1⁄2 tablespoons red wine
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
Method
- Preheat your oven to 160°C. Line a 20 cm round springform cake tin with baking paper.
- Place the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water) and stir occasionally with a metal spoon until melted. Stir in the olive oil and liqueur, then set aside to cool.
- Beat the egg yolks and caster sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Stir in the hazelnut meal, then gently mix in the melted chocolate mixture.
- Place the egg whites and salt in a very clean large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form (feel free to use electric beaters or a stand mixer). Gradually fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 40 minutes or until the middle of the cake is slightly wobbly and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in the tin for 30 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the wine-roasted strawberries. Increase the oven temperature to 180°C. Place the strawberries, caster sugar, red wine and vanilla seeds in a large bowl and gently toss. Tumble the mixture onto a baking tray and bake for 15–20 minutes or until the strawberries are slightly soft and juicy. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- To serve, top the cake with whipped cream, then scatter on the wine-roasted strawberries and their juices just before serving (or the cream will melt).
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