This is a quick and interesting cake. Don't worry about the way it cracks on top when it's cooked - it is supposed to do that. Dust with plenty of icing sugar and serve with poached fruits or fruit purees, or vanilla cream.

Ingredients

• 100 grams chocolate (dark, milk or white)
• 100 grams butter
• 5 tablespons flour
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• about ¼ cup icing sugar
• Vanilla Cream
• 1 cup cream
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Method

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double saucepan or in the microwave. It will take about 1 minute on high power.
2. Beat together the flour, caster sugar and eggs with an electric beater until thick and creamy.
3. Gradually beat in the melted chocolate and butter mixture and pour into a well-greased and lined 22cm loose-bottom cake tin. Bake for 1 hour at 180ºC.
4. Allow to cool in the tin before removing to a plate. Serve with vanilla cream, fruit puree or poached fruits.
5. Vanilla cream
6. Gently heat the cream, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla until the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool, then gently whip until lightly thickened.
7. Fruit puree
8. Puree fruit such as raspberries (fresh or frozen), canned drained fruit such as apricots, peaches or nashi.