Experience the rich flavour of espresso martini with this decadently dense mocha cake, drizzled with a vodka-infused caramel sauce and served with sea salt-flecked vanilla ice cream. It’s the perfect dessert for autumn evenings spent with family and friends.

Serves 12
Prep 25 minutes (plus cooling)
Cook 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

200g butter, chopped
200g dark chocolate, chopped
4 eggs, separated
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup coffee-flavoured liqueur
Sea salt flakes and vanilla ice-cream, to serve

Caramel Vodka Sauce
75g butter, chopped
2 tablespoons vodka
1 cup brown sugar
300ml thickened cream

Recipe supplied.
Photography by Andrew Young.

 Method

1 Preheat oven to 170°C/150°C fan-forced. Grease a 6cm-deep, 22cm round (base) springform pan. Line base and side with 3 layers of baking paper.

2 Place butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until melted and smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

3 Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks, sugar and vanilla for 5 minutes or until thick and creamy. Gradually beat in chocolate mixture until just combined. Add cocoa, almond meal and flour. Beat until just combined. Add liqueur. Beat to combine.

4 Wash and dry bowl and beaters. Using electric mixer, beat egg white until just-firm peaks form. Stir 1/3 of the egg white into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining egg white, in 2 batches. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until cake is just firm to touch. Cool completely in pan.

5 Make Caramel Vodka Sauce: Place butter, vodka, sugar and cream in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until melted and smooth. Bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes (see note).

6 Transfer cake to a serving plate. Drizzle with some of the sauce. Sprinkle with salt and serve with remaining sauce and ice-cream.

Cook’s Note: Keep an eye on sauce while it’s cooking as mixture will increase in volume.

Baker’s Choice

Choose the right oven to achieve the perfect bake every time. Both the Westinghouse 900mm Dual-Fuel Freestanding Cooker and Westinghouse 900mm Freestanding Cookerthe are great options.