Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a rich, flourless-tasting chocolate sponge built on ground almonds, with only a small amount of cake flour to hold it together. Creamed butter and sugar give it lift, the almond meal keeps it moist and tender, and the cocoa makes it deeply chocolate without being heavy or dry.
Baked thin in a tray it slices cleanly into strips and batons, and it takes syrup, ganache and mousse beautifully without going soggy. I use it as a base layer under mousse cakes and for layered slices where the sponge has to stay moist for several days.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 1100
Number of Units: 2
Unit Size: 30 x 25 cm slab tray, about 1.5 cm high
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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500 |
17.6 ounces
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Butter
Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
unsalted
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room temperature |
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B
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500 |
17.6 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
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C
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400 |
14.1 ounces
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Almond Meal
Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds (no skin), whereas almond meal can be made both with whole or blanched almonds. The consistency is more like corn meal than wheat flour.
It is used in pastry and confectionery – in the manufacture of almond macarons and other sweet pastries, in cake and pie filling, such as Sachertorte and is one of the two main ingredients of marzipan and almond paste. In France, almond meal is an important ingredient in frangipane, the filling of traditional galette des Rois cake.
Almond meal has recently become important in baking items for those on low carbohydrate diets. It adds moistness and a rich nutty taste to baked goods. Items baked with almond meal tend to be calorie-dense.
finely ground
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D
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100 |
3.5 ounces
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Calypso Chocolate Paste
Calypso is a dark, chocolate flavoured baking paste used by bakeries to deepen the colour and flavour of chocolate cakes and sponges. At home the same weight of melted dark compound chocolate, or a little extra cocoa powder loosened with warm water, will do the same job.
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E
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100 |
3.5 ounces
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Cocoa Powder
Cocoa Powder (cocoa solids) is a mixture of many substances remaining after cocoa butter is extracted from cacao beans. When sold as an end product, it may also be called cocoa, and cacao. In contrast, the fatty component of chocolate is cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is 50% to 57% of the weight of cocoa beans and gives chocolate its characteristic melting properties.
Cocoa solids are one of the richest sources of flavanol antioxidants. They are a key ingredient of chocolate, chocolate syrup, and chocolate confections.
unsweetened, Dutch process
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sifted |
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F
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500 |
10 Whole Eggs
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Whole Egg
Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together.
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room temperature |
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G
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100 |
3.5 ounces
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Cake Flour
Cake flour is a finely milled white flour made from soft wheat. It has very low protein content, between 8% and 10%, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. The higher protein content of other flours would make the cakes tough. Highly sifted cake flours may require different volume amounts in recipes than all-purpose flour. Using the scoop and level method, well-sifted flour usually produces 125 g per cup. However, most American recipes are written with 140 g of flour per cup, so weighing and experimentation can be helpful in baking unfamiliar recipes. Small weight differences can greatly affect the texture. American Cake flour is bleached; in countries where bleached flour is prohibited, plain flour can be treated in a domestic microwave to improve the texture of the end product.
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sifted |
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2200
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Pre-heat |
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (355°F) and line two shallow trays of about 30 x 25 cm with baking paper. |
Oven fully up to temperature before the batter is mixed |
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2 |
Cream |
Cream A and B (butter and caster sugar) together in a mixer with the paddle attachment. |
Pale, light and fluffy |
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3 |
Add |
Beat in D (Calypso chocolate paste) until it is evenly blended through the creamed butter. |
Even colour, no streaks |
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4 |
Beat |
Add F (whole egg) a little at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl. |
Smooth and glossy, not curdled or split |
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5 |
Fold |
Sift E and G (cocoa powder and cake flour) together, add C (almond meal) and fold the dry mixture through the batter by hand. |
Just combined, no dry pockets, batter still light |
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6 |
Fill |
Divide the batter between the two lined trays and spread it level with a palette knife. |
Even thickness right to the corners |
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7 |
Bake |
Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 18 to 22 minutes. |
Springs back when pressed lightly in the centre and the edges just pull from the paper |
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8 |
Cool |
Rest the sponges in the trays for 10 minutes, then slide them onto a rack, still on their paper, to cool completely. |
Completely cold before peeling the paper and cutting |
Important Notes
The full batch makes about 2.2 kg of batter, enough for two thin slab sponges of around 30 x 25 cm. Baked thin like this it is meant to be cut into strips or batons, or used as a base layer under mousse. If you prefer rounds, the same batter fills two 20 to 22 cm rings at about 1.1 kg each; allow a longer bake, around 30 to 35 minutes, and test with a skewer.
Because of the almond meal the sponge stays moist for several days. Wrap it well once cold and keep it at room temperature for up to two days, in the fridge for up to five, or freeze it flat for up to a month. Cut it while it is cold for the cleanest edges.
Tools & Arrangements
Electric mixer with paddle attachment, digital scales, sieve, mixing bowls, rubber spatula, palette knife, two shallow slab trays about 30 x 25 cm, baking paper, cooling rack, long serrated knife.
