Chocolate Cake with Ground Nuts and Whip Cream

The last few days have been great. We started each day with a long hike in the mountain preserve close to our house and then spent the rest of the time just puttering around the house. So after this relaxing and stress-free week-end I thought I would begin the week off with a bit of drama, with this tasty little dessert. On Saturday I received "The New Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone", which is the new Deborah Madison cookbook. There are so many great recipes to choose from in this book. But at this time I was craving something a little sweet and decadent, and this chocolate cake totally hit the spot.

This was a fun cake for me to make. Although I made chocolate donuts before, this is my first time making a chocolate cake, as most of what I do tends to be savory. It is a fudgy chocolate cake made with ground almonds instead of flour that's guaranteed to sink in the middle. The indentation is the perfect spot for a mound of coconut whip cream and a few sprigs of mint.

Ingredients:

5 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brewed espresso or strong coffee
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed ground walnuts, pecans, or almonds (I used almonds)

To prepare:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour an 8-inch spring form pan.

Break the chocolate and butter into small pieces and put them into a heavy sauce pan or double boiler with the coffee. Heat slowly until the butter and chocolate have melted. Stir occasionally, keeping heat on low.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs, salt and sugar on high speed until thick, foamy and pale yellow, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the almond and vanilla extracts, then gradually and slowly add the melted chocolate. Fold in the ground nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven about 40 minutes. Remove when cake is firm at the edges and springs back when touched in the center. Let cool in pan. Top and serve with regular or coconut whip cream and a sprig of mint for color. Enjoy!