Turn On Oven to 200.C./400.F

Bake cake for 15 mins

Then turn down to 180.C.

For 20 mins

 Method

1. Butter a non stick cake tin 26 cm in diameter, with removable/spring bottom and line the bottom with a circle of grease proof paper.

2. Melt chocolate, over double boiler/Bain Marie.( Place pyrex heat resistant bowl over saucepan of lightly simmering water. Water should not touch base of bowl. )

3. Cream together butter and Nescafe. This is important otherwise coffee doesn’t blend in.

4. Once chocolate has melted, remove from heat and add butter and coffee granules.

5. Separate  eggs, place whites in large spotless bowl.

6. Add 50 g sugar to yolks and beat until white and fluffy. 

7. Beat whites until stiff peaks, together with a pinch of salt. Add remaining sugar and beat until shiny. 

8. Add melted chocolate mixture to yolks and fold in 2 tbs of beaten egg whites.  

9. Add rest of beaten egg whites folding in lightly, by cutting across the mixture, turning the bowl with your left hand  a half turn anti-clockwise and folding your mixture lightly over, with out pressing it down.  

10. Pour mixture into lined cake tin, lightly smooth out on top and place in center of pre-heated oven. ( If during the cooking time you smell burning chocolate or the top looks as if it is over browning. Cut out a square of grease-proof paper and opening the oven very slightly, so as to rest paper on top of cake. This must be done very quickly as it is not recommended to open your oven door while your cake is cooking, it will drop! Towards the end of the cooking time you can risk it.

11. When cooking time is up, remove from oven. Run knife around edge of cake and release spring catch. Turn cake out onto cake cooling wrack. You will notice the cake has dropped from its initial hight. In this recipe, being a “Flour-less” cake, this is normal.

12.When the cake is cold turn onto Cake plate and decorate, with icing sugar using a sieve to shake the icing over the cake.

N.B. If serving as a dessert, serve with whipped cream or ice cream. If you want the cake to hold a little better you can add 1 tbs of flour to the mixture at the end.

This is a family favorite!

Pre-heat your oven and place shelf so that cake is baked in the center of your oven.

Prepare your spring clip non-stick cake tin, by buttering the bottom and sides  of your cake tin with melted butter.

To be on the safe side, line with a circle of grease-proof paper. I always line the base when baking a cake,

that way there is no risk of your lovely cake sticking to the tin.

Choose a good quality chocolate with above 60% Cocoa.

Melt over simmering water ‘Bain Marie.’ Water should not touch the base of your bowl.

Measure out 3 level table spoons of nescafe.

Cream together your Nescafe granules with your softened butter.

This is an important procedure, otherwise the granules don’t amalgamate well with the rest of the cake

mixture.

Separate eggs, placing whites in spotless bowl and placing to one side. Remember any grease, egg yolk

or other ingredient splashed in from say the mixer, will not enable your whites to become stiff!

Cream together your yolks and sugar in second bowl, using a hand whisk or electric beaters for at least

3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Once chocolate has melted remove from heat and mix in butter and coffee granules.

Beat egg whites together with a pinch of salt, until stiff peaks. Add remaining sugar and beat until shiny.

Add chocolate to egg yolks and mix together. You can see here how light in color the egg yolks have become

and full of air. This is why one wants to work quickly when making a cake, so as not to lose the air!

Fold in two tablespoons of beaten egg whites first and then the rest of the egg whites in two halves.

Fold as lightly as possible, never pressing down on your mixture, cutting across the middle, lifting and

folding over. Each time give your bowl a half turn anti-clockwise. You should fold until you can no longer

see any egg white. As soon as possible turn out in one into your prepared cake tin.

By turning your mixture out in one, this again helps not to lose the air in your cake.

Smooth out mixture very lightly and place in pre-heated oven.

Once the cooking time is up, test center of cake with skewer. If it comes out clean, cake is ready, if not leave

a little longer. I do this test while it is still in the oven, in case it needs a little longer.

Run knife around edge of cake in cake tin. The cake will fall and have cracks, but this is normal, because

it is a flour-less cake. Release spring and turn out onto cake wrack. Peel away paper  and leave to cool.

When completely cold, turn out onto serving plate, even side upper most.

Dredge icing sugar over cake, using a sieve and tapping the edge lightly with your hand.

Final result!