Sunday, July 08, 2007

Delicately Scented Almond and Rosewater Chocolate Cake


Ok, so I'm in a bit of a Crema di Balsamico mode since yesterday. Ever since I walked out of the shop with my little treasure, I have been consumed with thoughts about the many ways I could make use of this heavenly nectar. The taste of this stuff is so good that I wanted to serve it pure, just as a dressing, for something simple and delicious. I wanted to bake something that would sort of serve as a sponge to soak up the creamy syrup. The other thing on my mind was the bottle of rosewater I had also purchased yesterday and the bag of ground almonds which had preoccupied me for the last few weeks (yes, I can sometimes busy myself thinking about something as trivial as a bag of ground almonds).

Keeping the tartness of the Crema in mind and the delicate aroma of the rosewater, I decided that I had to create something with deep flavor and a hint of sweetness to mirror the notes of the balsamic. It had to be chocolate. I came up with a flourless chocolate cake which I drizzled with the balsamic and served with some juicy strawberries. A bit of an unusual combination, but a winning one nonetheless.

Here's the recipe:

*125g ground almonds
*5 beaten eggs
*150g pure, good quality chocolate

*100g soft butter
*100g brown sugar

*2 tsps rosewater

*1 tsp baking powder

*1/2 tsp baking soda

*strawberries and Crema di Balsamico to serve


Preheat oven to 200C and grease and flour a 22cm springform pan. Cream butter and sugar. Melt chocolate au bain marie and once melted, stir in the rosewater. Let cool briefly. Add chocolate to the butter and cream along with the almonds, eggs, baking powder and baking soda and beat well. I did all of this with the help of my trusted friend, Chelsea, the red Kitchen Aid. Pour into pan and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for ten minutes on a wire rack before loosening the form. To serve, drizzle a plate with some Crema. Top that with a dainty slice of the cake and accompany with a few strawberries. The cake goes particulary well with a simple espresso.

10 comments:

Maggie said...

Can I have a piece of your wonderful creation please? Sounds and looks delicious.

Mara said...

Paola, this photo is a piece of art in itself, so beautiful!
And the cake must be delicious,too!

Sandy said...

Wow! Looks almost too good to take a bite from. Absolutely gorgeous Paola!

Anna's kitchen table said...

Wow! Paola, you have been cooking up a storm lately. Everything looks so wonderful, colourful, and most of all delicious!!!
xx

Kelly-Jane said...

I agree you are making lovely things for your family :)

This looks so dark and lucious!

Nora B. said...

That looks gorgeous and the recipe sounds delightful. I love choc & almond cakes, so this will be a good one for me to try.

Anonymous said...

How much cream and flour do you put in? I am dying to try it out! Looks fabulous!!

Paola Westbeek said...

Hi,

It has no cream or flour. If the amount of rosewater is too little, feel free to increase it to your liking.

Paola

Anonymous said...

tsp in this receipt means teaspoon?

In Dutch if u don't mind:

Ik gebruikte teelepel, maar vond hem nogal plat eruit komen. Ook gebruik ik siliconen bakvormen en is het een beetje gokken qua baktijd; verder lekker recept. thanx.

Chris

Paola Westbeek said...

Dag Chris,

Inderdaad theelepel. :) Er is geen bloem in de cake dus vandaar dat hij anders is dan andere taarten.

Bedankt voor je bezoek!
Paola