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by Annie Bell from Annie Bell’s Baking Bible (Kyle Books)

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Here, a lovely chewy macaroon forms a base for the chocolate cream above.Ìý A drop of liqueur underlines the orange, but if you’re planning to dish this up to children, you could forego this.

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Makes 1 x 20cm cake

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Prep time 20-30 mins

Cooking time 20 mins + half day / overnight chilling.

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Ingredients

For the base

2 medium eggs whites

50g light muscovado sugar

100g ground almonds

100g icing sugar, sifted

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For the chocolate mousse

200g dark chocolate, 50% cocoa solids, broken into pieces

2 medium organic eggs

25g golden caster sugar

finely grated zest of 1 orange

250ml whipping cream

2 tbsp orange-flavoured liqueur, such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier

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Kit

20cm non-stick cake tin with a removable base, 5-6cm deep

Electric whisk

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Little Extras

Unsalted butter for greasing

Chocolate shavings for decorating (optional)

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Method

Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/Gas 3 & butter the base of a 20cm non-stick cake tin with a removable base 5-6cm deep.Ìý Place the egg whites & light muscovado sugar in a medium sized bowl & whisk for a couple of minutes, using an electric whisk, until very pale & doubled in volume. Combine the ground almonds & icing sugar in a separate bowl & fold into the egg white mixture in two batches.

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Spoon into the prepared tin, levelling out the surface, & bake for 20 mins until firm & lightly coloured. Leave to cool.

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To make the mousse, gently melt the chocolate in large-ish bowl set over a pan with a little simmering water in it. Set aside to cool to room temperature – you can transfer it to a cool bowl to speed up the process if you wish.

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Place the eggs, sugar & orange zest in a separate bowl & whisk for a couple of mins using an electric whisk until pale & doubled in volume. In another bowl, whisk the cream, using clean beaters, until it forms soft fluffy peaks. Carefully fold the egg & sugar mixture into the cooled chocolate, followed by the cream in two batches. Stir in the liqueur.

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Smooth over the macaroon base & decorate the edge with chocolate shavings if you wish.

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Cover & chill for half a day or overnight until set. To serve, run a knife around the collar of the tin to remove it, & cut into slices.

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