Ingredients

• 200g/7oz dark chocolate
• chopped
• 3 large free-range eggs
• 110g/4oz unsalted butter
• diced
• 150g/5oz caster sugar
• 90g/3oz ground hazelnuts
• 60g/2oz self-raising flour
• 3 tbsp orange liqueur
• pinch salt
• freshly whipped cream
• to serve
• 100g/3½oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
• chopped
• 60g/2oz unsalted butter
• diced
• 1 tbsp orange liqueur (optional)
• 10-12 whole toasted hazelnuts
• to decorate

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Line the base of a 23cm/9in cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides.
• Place the chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water
• ensuring the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir gently until the last lumps have disappeared then remove from the heat. Add the butter and stir until completely incorperated.
• Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks
• placing each into separate bowls. Add the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Carefully fold in the chocolate
• ground hazelnuts and the flour. Finally
• add the orange liqueur.
• Using an electric whisk
• whisk the egg whites with the salt until stiff peaks form. Stir a spoonful of the egg white into the chocolate batter until completely incorporated
• then fold the remaining egg whites into the batter with a metal spoon.
• Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40-50 minutes
• until firm to the touch. (It will still be moist in the centre so the usual skewer test won't work.) Cool for 5-10 minutes
• then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. When cool place on a serving plate.
• To make the glaze
• melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water
• ensuring the bowl doesn't touch the water. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat in the butter bit by bit with a wooden spoon. Add the liqueur
• if using. Let cool for 5-10 minutes
• until it begins to thicken
• but is still runny.
• Spread the glaze over the cake and down the sides
• using a palette knife. Decorate the top with the whole hazelnuts before the glaze sets. Serve with some freshly whipped cream.