Nutty Choc Orange Cake

Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing + 250g butter, softened for recipe
- 1 ½ cups blanched almonds
- 2 ½ cups walnuts
- 200g dark eating chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 5 eggs, separated
- 1 Tbsp finely grated orange rind
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Method
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1. Preheat oven to 140°C (120°C fan-forced). Grease a deep 23cm-square cake pan. Line base and sides with baking paper.
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2. Blend or process nuts and chocolate until finely chopped.
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3. Beat butter, vanilla and sugar in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating between each until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in chocolate mixture and rind.
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4. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold half the egg whites into chocolate mixture, then the other half.
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5. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake, uncovered, for 1¼ hours. Leave to cool to room temperature in the pan, then cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
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6. To serve, cut cake into squares and serve dusted with icing sugar, if desired.
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Tip: This is great to have for afternoon tea, in the lunchbox or with whipped cream for dessert.