EASY 12 SERVES 30 MINS PREP 90 MINS COOKING

Ingredients

Cake

  • ¾ cup (105g) raisins
  • 100ml Pedro Ximinez (sweet Spanish sherry)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 strips orange peel
  • 200g Haigh’s Ideal Blend Block, chopped
  • 150g unsalted butter, chopped
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) water
  • ¾ cup (165g) firmly packed light muscavado sugar
  • 4 extra-large eggs (at room temperature), separated
  • ¾ cup (105g) self-raising flour, sifted
  • ¼ cup (25g) cocoa powder, sifted
  • ¼ cup (35g) almond meal

Chocolate Ganache

Sticky muscatels

  • 100g dried muscatel grapes
  • 150ml Pedro Ximinez
  • ¼ cup (60ml) water
  • 2 strips orange peel
  • 1 cinnamon stick

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced). Lightly grease a deep 21cm round cake tin and line with baking paper.
  2. For the cake, combine raisins, Pedro Ximinez, cinnamon and peel together in a small saucepan over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or until raisins absorb the liquid. Remove from heat and allow to cool before removing cinnamon and peel.
  3. Combine chocolate, butter and water together in a small bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering shallow water, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or until chocolate and butter have both melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together using electric beaters, until light and creamy. Add cooled chocolate mixture, stirring until just combined. Add flour, cocoa, almond meal and raisin mixture, stirring until combined.
  5. Place egg whites in a clean mixing bowl and using electric beaters, beat until soft peaks form. Add a third of egg whites to the chocolate mixture, gently stirring to combine, to help loosen mixture. Add the remaining egg whites, gently folding into the mixture until combined.
  6. Pour mixture into prepared cake tin, bake in preheated oven for 1¼ hours or until a skewer comes out of centre clean. Loosely cover cake with foil half way through baking, to prevent it burning. Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  7. For sticky muscatels, combine muscatels, Pedro Ximinez, water, peel and cinnamon together in a small saucepan over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or until the muscatels absorb most of the liquid. Remove from heat, allow to cool and reserve 2 tablespoons of poaching liquid for the ganache.
  8. For ganache, place Haigh’s chocolate in a medium mixing bowl.
  9. Heat cream and reserved poaching liquid in a small saucepan over a medium heat, bring to just below boiling point. Pour over chocolate and gently stir to combine. Leave to stand for several minutes before stirring again. Repeat process until chocolate has melted, making sure mixture is not over stirred. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up a little.
  10. To serve, spread ganache over cake and top with sticky muscatels.