Ingredients:
CAKE
100g 70% dark organic chocolate (I recommend Green and Blacks)
125g butter
1 ½ cups almond meal
½ cup potato flour
80-100g brown sugar, depending on your sweet tooth
1/2 cup milk of choice
2 eggs
4 tablespoons cocoa
½ cup freshly brewed strong espresso
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
ICING
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
45g butter, at room temperature
2½-3 tablespoons brown sugar, depending on your sweet tooth
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (you can buy it at most supermarkets or substitute for extract)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and grease/line a medium sized cake tin. Turn your coffee machine on, if you are using one.
Fill a medium sized saucepan just over half way with water and turn the heat up to high. Place a steel bowl over the top of the water, ensuring that the water and bowl do not meet. In the bowl, place your chocolate and butter.
When the butter is starting to melt, turn your heat down a little bit so that you don’t get water splashing everywhere. Keep stirring until the butter and chocolate are completely melted.
Next, make your espresso. If you don’t have a coffee machine, brew half a cup of strong instant coffee.
Pour your espresso into the chocolate mixture, and stir until it is incorporated.
In a large bowl, mix together your flours, salt, cocoa and sugar. Add the chocolate mix to the flours, and mix until a smooth batter is formed.
Add the eggs and incorporate them thoroughly into the batter. Stir the milk in gradually, and keep stirring until the batter is completely smooth.
Add your baking soda, and top it with the apple cider vinegar. Once the reaction subsides, gently fold this into the batter.
Pour into your greased cake tin and bake for around 40-45 minutes.
Once a skewer comes out clean, take the cake out of the oven and leave to cool completely.
In a separate large bowl, use your hand beater to beat the cream cheese and butter until a smooth icing is formed. Add your espresso gradually, and then finish with the sugar and vanilla. Store in the fridge until you are ready to ice the cake.