Chocolate Cake with Toasted Almonds

I made 2 cakes for my husband's birthday (English people still have the tradition, that you should bring in sweets if you have a birthday-we had the same tradition in Hungary up to age 10 when you left the lower grades of elementary school). Anyway I totally forgot about it, and I needed a quick and light chocolate cake, as few people wouldn't eat the fruits on his workplace. I didn't have time to mess about complicated and complex chocolate cake (I started to bake after 8pm) so I baked this extra quick and light cake(you can use a 23cm round tin as well, but if I bake for a crowd I prefer the square one as it is easier to slice nicely).

Chocolate Cake with Toasted Almonds

For the sponge

6 eggs

pinch of salt

6 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

100 ml vegetable oil/sunflower oil

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp baking powder

For the cream

150g dark chocolate

50g double cream

50g cream cheese

8 tbsp forest/apricot/raspberry jam 

For the cake cover

50g dark chocolate

40ml double cream

1 tsp liquid glucose

100g toasted almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 19X25cm cake tin.

Separate the eggs then with a pinch of salt beat the egg whites until it form stiff peaks. While continuously mixing with an electrical mixer add the egg yolks, then the sugar and the oil(mixing between each addition). 

Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and the baking powder in two lots, carefully folding in the mixture.

 If you rush this step you can ruin your whole cake. Two typical mistakes: not folding thoroughly and you will have small lumps of flour in the ready sponge, or you mix it too vigorously and you break up the air bubbles in the mixture(that you created with the mixer) and it won't rise at all in the oven.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the inserted wooden skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool then take it out from the pan.

For the filling melt the copped chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then add in the double cream and the cream cheese. 

Divide the cooled sponge to three parts with a cake leveller and start assembling the cake.

Brush 4 tbsp jam on top of the sponge then add half of the chocolate cream and sprinkle over a handful of toasted almonds. Repeat the process with the second level, than cover the cake with the top layer of sponge.

For cake cover, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then add the double cream and the liquid glucose. Pour over the cake and using a spatula knife cover the sides as well. Sprinkle over the rest of the toasted almonds. On the sides I paced the almonds on one by one to have an even surface(it only takes 2-3minutes).

Keep in the fridge until consuming, but remove 15 minutes before serving, so the chocolate can soften a bit.

The other cake was the standard white chocolate and coconut cream filled red velvet cake for their special request: