Recipes from professional Chef Tallyrand:

• Flourless Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cake with Pistachio •

When is a cake not a cake?
I have requests for information on flours lately so I have put together a 'tell all' column on flours in answer to these other questions and more <click here> - questions such as:

• what is a soft flour
• what is a high ratio flour
• what defines a strong flour

Talking of flour . . . also this month check out my extra column on potatoes - floury, waxy, what are they, how are they best cooked, etc <click here>

But it got me thinking for a recipe to link with this. What recipe would be great to link to, what dish optimises the use of flour?

Well, sometimes to answer a question I have found means turning the question on its head. To get where one wants to get, to reflect something appropriate or to give something a more personal twist one must step outside the box and look at it from a totally new perspective, almost as if viewing it from someone else's eyes. This way of thinking, has led me many a time to a new dish. Questions like . . . if I was to present this dish / recipe to a person of Asian extraction, how would they approach it? What in their culture could be used to redefine this dish.

Taking this lateral approach, led me to the answer to my original question . . . "what recipe would be great to link to, what dish optimises the use of flour"? Then the answer came to me . . . a recipe that specifically does not use flour at all!

In fact a cake recipe that does not include flour. When we think of cakes, we think of flour . . . but not in this case. There are times in a professional chef's life when they have to cook for someone with an intolerance to flour, usually they are allergic to the gluten. This recipe then is perfect for just such an occasion. Maybe you just want a dessert, but have no flour at home? Whatever the reason, I am sure you will delight in serving this cake sometime - you will love its flavour and its simplicity.

Flourless Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cake with Pistachio

Ingredients

butter	200	gm
chocolate (bitter or semi sweet)	200	gm
sugar	200	gm
ground almonds	100	gm
egg yolks	5	pc
eggs whites	5	pc
pistachio nuts - chopped	1	tbs
chocolate chips	1	tbs

Method

1. Place the butter and chocolate in a large bowl and gently melt over a pan of hot water <click here>
2. Cool slightly and whisk in the sugar, ground almonds and egg yolks
3. Whisk this thoroughly to a smooth 'batter'
4. Whisk the egg whites to the soft peak stage <click here>
5. Pour half of them into the 'batter' and gently mix through with a metal spoon
6. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold through. This should be done just enough to combine the batter and egg whites, but without losing all the air from the egg whites; better to slightly under mix than over mix
7. Pour three-quarters of the batter into a lightly greased and floured cake tin, sprinkle over the chocolate chips and pistachios, pour over the remaining batter
8. Take a good sized sheet of tin foil and form a circle by working around the sides and curling the edges in. Rest this over the top of the cake tin to prevent over browning
9. Place the cake tin on a baking tray and place in the oven
10. Bake at 175°C for approximately 25 minutes, gently open the oven and check the cake, remove the tin foil and bake for a further 10 - 15 minutes
11. Allow to cool in the cake tin for 5 minutes, carefully remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack for another 10 - 15 minutes
12. Finish with your favourite glaze or topping
    

Chef's Tip:

When you pre-heat the oven, place a tray on the top shelf to help prevent the cake top browning too quickly.

Enjoy and bon appetit . . . . .

Published 03 November 2003