3 hours ago
5
This year’s bumper crop of blackberries has kept me busy foraging the hedgerows and left our kitchen and fridge full of berries to turn into new recipes. Inspired by the glut, I returned to an old favourite, my beetroot nemesis, a twist on the River Cafe’s famous chocolate nemesis cake in which I use the whole beetroot, including its candied magenta stems. Blackberries have a tendency to turn squishy, but even when they’re soft, they’re still juicy and fine to cook with. Determined not to let this bounty go to waste, I’m using some of the surplus in this heavenly, complex, adult dessert, which is rich in antioxidants and endorphin-boosting flavonoids.
Blackberry nemesis
As a recipe developer of predominantly seasonal recipes, I’m always on the lookout for simple dishes that can be tweaked with the seasons. Flourless chocolate cakes have an intense flavour, yet provide a blank canvas for all sorts of additions and/or substitutions. With our hedgerows producing untold thousands of tonnes of wild blackberries annually, there’s rarely been a better time to embrace seasonal adaptations of this kind. To keep berries for longer, store them in a sealed container in the fridge with a sheet of kitchen towel in there to soak up any excess moisture.
This seasonal take on the River Cafe’s chocolate nemesis has a bright acidity that cuts through the chocolate’s velvet richness, and it’s actually quite simple to make. The berries, squished into a purple puree, are stirred through melted dark chocolate and butter before being folded into whisked eggs and sugar, so aerating the cake. Everything is then baked in a bain-marie, creating a moussey, intense and complex flourless chocolate cake with a lively berry sharpness. I had a few extra blackberries, so I baked those on top to add some freshness and a welcome counterpoint to the chocolate’s deep bittern-sweetness.
Chocolate is fragile and prone to split when cooked, so chop it into small pieces to help it melt evenly, and make sure the bowl is not touching the hot water in the pan below. And aim to keep the water as low as 40C – that is, about hot-bath temperature – because chocolate melts at body temperature, which is just one reason it’s so heavenly to eat. The bain-marie is not 100% essential here, but it does protect the cake from the intense heat of the oven and helps it maintain a uniform, moussey texture.
Serves 6
180g 70%-plus cocoa dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
125g butter, or coconut butter, cut into cubes
3 medium eggs
150g unrefined sugar
150g blackberries, plus an optional 100g extra for the topping
To serve (all optional)
Extra blackberries
Live yoghurt, creme fraiche or double cream
Heat the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½, line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper, then set it inside a larger solid cake tin in which it fits comfortably, for a makeshift bain-marie.
Put the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a pan of hot but not boiling water, then stir occasionally until they melt: make sure the mix doesn’t get too hot or the chocolate may split. While the chocolate is melting, whisk the eggs with the sugar for five minutes, or until they have doubled in volume.
Mash or puree the blackberries, stir them into the melted chocolate, then gently fold the chocolate and fruit mix into the eggs. Pour the mix into the lined cake tin and top with the extra whole blackberries, if using. Lift the cake in its lined tin and inside the larger tin into the hot oven, then pour just-boiled water into the outer tin to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the small cake tin. Bake for 30 minutes, or until just set, then remove and leave to cool. Cover and refrigerate the cooled cake for a few hours, then slice with a hot knife and serve with extra blackberries and something creamy.
