5. Philippa's No-Flour Chocolate Fudge Cake

I needed a great cake recipe for a girly weekend away, and my good friend Philippa gave me this recipe - it is very tasty!

Philippa's No-Flour Chocolate Fudge Cake

300g broken chocolate
225g caster sugar
180ml boiling water
225g salted butter, cut into cubes
6 eggs, separated
1tsp vanilla essence

1. Grease and line a cake tin (23cm round / 20cm square). Preheat oven to 180 C / 160 C fan assisted.

2. Put the chocolate and caster sugar into a food processor and pulse until fine (I don't have a food processor, so I shaved the chocolate with a knife as finely as I could - it takes much longer, but it works!)

3. Add the boiling water, butter, egg yolks and vanilla essence, mixing until smooth.

4. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, and then add to the chocolate mixture and combine until just mixed.

5. Pour into the prepared tin and cook for 45-55 mins. The top will crack like a desert, and the cake should no longer be wobbly when you move the tin.

6. Allow the cake to cook, then refridgerate overnight. Serve from the fridge with ice-cream, creme fresh, or fruit coulis.

As ever, there are various ways of adapting this recipe! Personally, I think a bit of crunch would complement the gooey, fudgy texture really well - I will add about a cup of crushed walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans or almonds next time I make it. And these are a few other ideas I'd like to try:

• Add a tablespoon of instant coffee powder to the chocolate mixture, before you mix in the egg whites (Philippa's suggestion!)
• Add a cup of frozen fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries or blackcurrants.
• Add the rind of an orange and do 150ml boiling water and 30ml orange juice, for a chocolate-orange variation.
• Add a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon for a spicy kick to the cake.

And I'm sure you can come up with some of your own adaptations! Let me know if you hit upon a dream combination!