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Guilt-free chocolate cake
By Annie Bell
27th January 2008



4 medium eggs, separated
150g golden caster sugar*
3 tablespoons cocoa powder*, sifted
225g ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted

Filling
2 x 250g tubs of ricotta, drained
3 tablespoons set honey*
4 tablespoons coarsely grated dark chocolate* (70-85% cocoa solids)

*Ingredients available fairly traded from Just
Makes 1 x 20cm cake

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas mark 6 and butter a 20cm cake tin 9cm deep with a removable base.
Stiffly whisk the egg whites in medium bowl – I use a handheld electric whisk for this.
Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy.
Fold the egg whites into the egg mixture in three goes, then fold in the cocoa, the ground almonds and baking powder.
Transfer the cake mixture to the prepared tin, smooth the surface and bake it for 35 minutes until the sponge has begun to shrink from the sides and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Run a knife around the edge of the cake and leave it to cool in the tin. Place the ricotta and honey in a food processor and whizz until smooth (if you do this by hand it will remain grainy).
Remove the collar from the cake, but you can leave it on the base for ease of serving.
Slit the cake in half, taking into account the height in the centre of the cake. Reserving a couple of tablespoons of the ricotta cream, spread the rest over the base and sandwich with the top half.
Spread the reserved cream in a thin layer over the surface of the cake and scatter over the grated chocolate which should conceal all but the very edge of the cream.
Set aside in a cool place. If keeping the cake longer than a few hours, cover, chill and bring it back up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes before serving.