Decadent, not too sweet and luscious. This is the ultimate chocolate dessert cake or slice. This recipe is so rich it is ideal to serve when entertaining. Otherwise cut in half and wrap and freeze one half for later use.

Ingredients

• 1 cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup orange liqueur
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 350 grams dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 250 grams butter, diced (unsalted butter is best)
• 4 X 70 gram eggs, at room temperature
• ¼ cup flour, sifted (or use ground almonds)
• 2 tblsp cocoa, sifted

Method

1. Put half the sugar and orange liqueur into saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chocolate and stir over a double saucepan or very, very low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Cool to lukewarm.
2. In a clean bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining sugar for about 8-10 minutes or until very pale and thick. Lift the beaters from the mixture and make a figure 8. If you can still see the figure 8 once made, the mixture has been beaten sufficiently. If not continue.
3. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the beaten egg mixture. Once half mixed sift over the flour and fold gently. Transfer to a greased and paper-lined 23cm round cake tin.
4. Bake in a water bath at 180 degrees Celsius for 1 hour or until the cake is firm to the touch. Remove from the water bath and leave to cool. Invert on to a serving platter and garnish as wished.
5. To accompany Dark berry-fruit puree, such as blackberries or canned cherries is wonderful here. Or try orange segments tossed in caramel.

Cooks Tips

Look for chocolate with 70% cocoa solids. In supermarkets you will find New Zealand brand Richfields Seventy Classic Dark, ideal for this dessert. As this dessert is being cooked in a water bath, it is best not to cook it in a loose-bottomed cake tin on this occasion. If that is the only tin you have, make sure you wrap the tin well in foil before placing it in the water bath.