I don't have a standard flourless chocolate cake recipe on hand. However, I've made this recipe from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Godess. It's a flourless chocolate cake with Nutella and topped with toasted Hazlenuts. It's to die for. Just make sure there are no nut allergies... (It is easy to make, even though it might look otherwise)
for the cake:
6 large eggs, separated
pinch of salt
125 g soft unsalted butter
400g Nutella (1 large jar)
1 tablespoon Frangelico, rum or water
100g ground hazelnuts
100g dark chocolate, melted
for the icing:
100g hazelnuts (peeled weight)
125 ml double cream
1 tablespoon Francelico, rum or water
125 g dark chocolate
23 cm Springform tin, greased and lined
Prehead oven to 180 C/gas mark 4.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff, but not dry. In a separte bowl, beat the butter and Nutella together, and then add the Frangelico (or whatever you're using), egg yolks and ground hazelnuts. Fold in the cooled, melted chocolte, then lighten the mixture with a large dollop of egg white, which you can beat in as roughly as you want, before gently folding ithe rest of the egg whites, a third at a time. Pour into the prepared tin and cook for 40 minutes or until cake's beginning to come away at the sides, then let cool on a rack.
Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until the aroma wafts upwards and the nuts are golden-brown in parts: keep shaking the pan so that they don't burn on one side and stay too pallid on others. Transfer to a plate and let cool. This is imperative. if they go on the ganache while hot, it'll turn oily.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the cream, liquer or water and chopped chocolate, and heat gently. Once the chocolate's melted, take the pan off the heat and whisk until it reaches the right consistency to ice the top of the cake. Unmould the cooled cake carfeully, leaving it on the base as it will be too difficult to get such a damp cake off in one piece. Ice the top with the chocolate icing, and dot thickly with the whole, toasted hazelnuts.
Serves 8
