"Over 10 years ago I tried a pão de ló in Portugal - the shops have these cakes all lined up along the bench surrounded by frilly paper," says Mat Lindsay. "The traditional version is a classic eggs and sugar kind of thing and never has cocoa, but our take is kind of like a chocolate fondant self-saucing pudding. It's really simple to make and there's no mess; you serve it in the paper that you bake it in."
Burnt cocoa sponge cake
Don't be fooled: this rich fondant-like cake is so simple to prepare it could soon become your standby for all those moments when a last-minute dessert is required.
- 15 mins preparation
- 15 mins cooking plus cooling
- Serves 4
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Ingredients
- 2½ tbsp dutch-process cocoa
- 8 egg yolks
- 2 eggs
- 100 gm caster sugar
- 50 gm (⅓ cup) plain flour, sifted
Method
Main
- 1Preheat oven to 220°C. Sift cocoa over a baking tray thinly but evenly, then roast, stirring every minute until dark and it smells toasted (3-4 minutes).
- 2Grease and line four 12cm-diameter cake tins or ovenproof bowls with 30cm square pieces of baking paper, squashing folds of paper against tins.
- 3Whisk yolks, eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and doubled in size (3-4 minutes). Gently fold in flour and toasted cocoa until fully incorporated. Divide batter among tins and bake until centre is just set but still a little runny (7-9 minutes; it may take you a couple of tries to get the timing perfect). Cool in tins for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with pouring cream.
Notes
Drink Suggestion: Punset nebbiolo chinato, Piedmont. Drink suggestion by Julien Dromgool
