Hazelnut Chocolate Cake with Sultanas (10)
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Put the sultanas in a small bowl, pour in the sherry and set aside for two hours, stirring occasionally. Line the base of a 24cm spring-form cake tin with a disc of baking parchment. Set the oven at 160C/gas mark 3.
  2. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry, shallow pan till golden brown and fragrant. Tip all but 20g of them into a food processor and process to fine crumbs. Mix the flour and cocoa together.
  3. sing a food mixer, beat the caster sugar and butter together till light and fluffy. Put a small pan of water on to boil, place a small dish on top of it, break the chocolate into the dish and let it melt over the simmering water, without stirring.
  4. Process the rosemary and 2 tablespoons of caster to a coarse powder. Slowly introduce the egg yolks to the creamed butter and sugar, beating constantly. Whisk the egg whites until almost stiff.
  5. Mix the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar, then carefully fold in the ground hazelnuts, drained sultanas and the flour and cocoa. Lastly, fold in the beaten egg whites, making certain there are no lumps of unincorporated whites. Scrape the mixture into the lined cake tin.
  6. Finally, scatter the reserved hazelnuts and the rosemary sugar over the surface. Bake for 40-45 minutes until lightly firm, the top slightly cracked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before carefully removing from the tin.