Dark Chocolate Almond Cake

June 13, 2014

Over the weekend, I finally got my ‘me’ time. Well, not exactly as I have not read even a single page of the book I wanted to read. Honestly, I didn’t know what to read first as I have so many on the list. The ‘me’ time included staying in the kitchen for almost six hours including the almost one hour I spend in taking photos. Gosh! It was really tiring. What did I do in the kitchen for almost six hours, you ask? I did two baking and one cooking, which I am bringing one of them for today’s FF. But I will talk about it later.

I did prepare all the ingredients I need, washed and cleaned up after that. I think I really missed staying for hours in the kitchen so even I was feeling tired, I still cooked one meal after I ate my lunch and took a bath. The baking and cooking alone were so much fun. Preparing the ingredients including the slicing of the veggies? Not too much fun! And the cleaning up? Ahh! I wanna give up. If I could throw everything I used in a plastic bag and dumped them on a garbage can, I would. But hey! I wouldn’t do that. Of course, I won’t. That’s not a good idea. AT ALL. The ‘photo shoot’ took a long time, too. Because I was so tired by the time I took the photos, I didn’t have that much of patience to deal with the ‘reflector’ (which is actually a car sun-shade) falling on the floor repeatedly, and I didn’t have somebody to assist me.

After taking photos and cleaning up my mess, that’s when I felt that my body (especially my hips and legs) was so painful. It’s like I’ve been in the gym for hours. I went to the bed to rest, finally. But after a couple of hours, I was up again and mopped the floor. Ugh! Can’t really sit for too long, huh?

Overall, my weekend was great! I wonder what will happen this weekend. 😀 I hope I will have time to read a book.

So let’s get down to business!

I think I will be opening another short discussion for today’s FF as I had a little problem when I made this delicious cake.

thenotsocreativecook-AlmondCake

Dark Chocolate Almond Cake

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

For the cake: 

  • 125 g dark chocolate
  • 7 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3 egg whites
  • ½ cup + 3 tbsp powdered sugar, divided
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 cup finely ground almond/almond flour
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ cup ground almonds, for topping

For the chocolate glaze:

  • 100 g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter

Instructions:

For the cake: 

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray.
  2. In a heatproof bowl, place chocolate and butter in a  heatproof bowl. Microwave for a minute or so or until smooth on low-medium heat, stirring at 15 seconds interval. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine egg yolks, 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Beat until pale and thick.
  4. Add melted chocolate and ground almonds.
  5. Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda to the previous mixture.Mix well.
  6. In another bowl, add egg whites and beat until soft peaks. Gradually add remaining 3 tbsp powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks.
  7. Gently fold the egg whites mixture into the flour-chocolate mixture in 3 portions. Mix until no streaks of meringue remain.
  8. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan.
  9. Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  10. Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan for 5 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the chocolate glaze: 

  1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth and melted.
  2. Pour this delicious glaze over completely cooled cake.
  3. Top with ground almonds.

Source recipe: Dark Chocolate Almond Cake by Scientifically Sweet

The only problem I had was the bottom and the sides were almost burnt. I am having the same problem every time I deal with whipped egg whites folded into the batter. Any idea how to avoid this?

In any case, burnt or not, I enjoyed every bite.

thenotsocreativecook-AlmondCake2

The cake was so soft (I bet it’s because of the egg whites) and so moist.
The icing was so good.
The ground almonds on top gave a light crunchy bite.

So what are you waiting for FF people, go on and grab a slice or two, I won’t mind. 😀

Thank you, Angie, for this wonderful party! Thank you co-hosts for helping out Angie. And thank you party people for making this party rockin’.

Enjoy FF #20.

(New to Fiesta Friday? Click the image below for the guidelines.)

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What are you up to this weekend? I’d love to know. 😉 Happy FF, lovely people!!

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109 Comments

  • cookandenjoyrecipes
    March 13, 2017 at 1:18 am Reply

    Psst. Just a heads up, I have released the March 2017 Share and Inspire Others! -Chocolate – Anything Chocolate Recipe Exchange: Link: https://cookandenjoyrecipes.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/march-2017-share-and-inspire-others-chocolate-anything-chocolate/
    You have as of this moment, up until March 20th, to share / repost the original post on your blog.
    Thank you from the depth of my heart for your participation and wonderful recipes. Hope to see you again in April

  • applegiuice
    August 1, 2015 at 6:40 am Reply

    Loved this recipe, I will try it for sure!
    I have to say, though, that I was looking for the banana bread recipe 🙂
    I clicked on the banana bread and banana muffins links, and I got here…
    Happy I did, since this recipe is worth seeing, but I’d really like to see that recipe, I tried to make banana bread but my recipe needs improvement 🙂
    Thank you!!!

  • keraoregan
    November 20, 2014 at 8:55 pm Reply

    This looks SO good! And what beautiful photos! If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of camera do you use for your food shots? Currently all of mine are taken off my iPhone, but it doesn’t leave my blog looking very professional, so I’m thinking about investing in one. Would love to know what you think! And of course will have to put this on my list of recipes to try!

    • Jhuls
      November 21, 2014 at 8:51 am Reply

      Thank you so much for your compliment. <3 I am using a Nokia DSLR camera and trying to take photos when natural light is available. 🙂

      I hope you let me know when you try this. Have a wonderful weekend. I hope you could join us at Fiesta Friday as well. 🙂

    • Jhuls
      June 18, 2014 at 2:01 pm Reply

      Thank you, Aunt Juju. It seemed that the temperature is the problem. Most of you said the same thing. 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful day.

  • Kloesunny @ Kloe's Kitchen
    June 15, 2014 at 10:04 am Reply

    Jhuls, this cake looks amazing! Your weekend sounds like my week. I made two birthday cakes and a bunch of meals! By the time I was done I vowed not to go into the kitchen ever again…guess what? The next day I was in there again! Funny how that works. Your photos are gorgeous and I want to let you know that all of your work sure paid off! They capture the yummieness of that cake that I am going to try! Happy FF20! -Kloe

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 6:39 pm Reply

      Haha! I think we are not the only one thinking of not going back to the kitchen after a very tiring hours. 😀 Thank you, Kloe. I hope you had a re;axing weekend and have a lovely week. <3

  • apuginthekitchen
    June 15, 2014 at 10:01 am Reply

    Jhuls, this cake is amazing but I am very upset. I have been following your blog for a while now and the notifications stopped. This is happening more and more frequently and yours is not the only blog that this has happened to so I apologize that I have not commented or seen your posts for a while. I just unfollowed and re followed that seems to work at least for now.

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 6:41 pm Reply

      I think we are having different problems, Suzanne. As for me, when I decide to follow a blog and click the ‘follow’ button beside the blog’s name, it shows me ‘following’. The next thing I know when I decide to the person’s blog, it seemed to me that I have not followed that blog at all. So frustrating. 🙁

      Anyway, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you had a great time co-hosting with Fae. 🙂 Have a lovely week. <3

  • Butter, Basil and Breadcrumbs
    June 14, 2014 at 9:19 am Reply

    Aww…sweet Jhuls… I hope this weekend you get to finally sit and read a book!! In the meantime…this cake is so perfect! I wouldn’t mind the burned sides and bottom, although I bet it wasn’t as burned as you think it was!! I wonder if it’s your oven…maybe baking at a higher heat than you have it set for.
    I love the sound of the ground almonds in the cake, I can just taste it right now… I know that it has to be so delicious!! I’m printing this recipe, because I can see a big piece of this sitting in front of me with a tall glass of milk! Yum!! <3

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 6:47 pm Reply

      Thank you so much for being here, Prudy. I never thought of pairing this with glass of milk. I always think of my green tea that I forget that milk is also good with chocolate cakes. 😀 I better try that next time. Have a lovely week. <3

      PS: Please do let me know how this turns out with you. 🙂

  • Loretta
    June 14, 2014 at 7:56 am Reply

    Almonds and chocolate, gosh that sounds ever so good, and it looks amazing too! Don’t you just love the smell of chocolate all over the house? I’ll bet your house stayed “chocolatey” for days :). I’ll send you an email later re the linky thingy 🙂

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 6:49 pm Reply

      Ahh! I hope you agree with me about the cleaning part. Is there anyone you know who loves cleaning after cooking and baking? 😀
      Thank you so much for stopping by. I wish you a lovely week. <3

  • Arl's World
    June 14, 2014 at 6:57 am Reply

    Dark chocolate and almonds …yummm …always a favorite of mine. Jhuls, your weekend sounds just like mine. And I am glad to know that I am not the only one taking a lot of time taking pictures after baking or cooking. 🙂 My son is asking “okay mom, can I eat this now?!” Hehe. 😉

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 6:52 pm Reply

      I don’t know, Arl… sometimes I don’t take pictures for too long. But this day was really crazy. Maybe because I was already dead tired when the taking of photos came. And yeah, your son must have been drooling while you take photos, so please make it quicker next time. 😀

      I hope you have a lovely week, Arl. <3

  • Fae's Twist & Tango
    June 14, 2014 at 2:36 am Reply

    That was quite a ‘me time’ you had, Sweet Lady! I (many of us) know exactly what you are talking. On a brighter side, Happy Fiesta Friday #20! The look of your cake looks very moist and with almonds in it, I have to have 2 slices. I hope you’ll have time this weekend to read a least a few pages from your book. 😀 )))

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 6:56 pm Reply

      Thank you for the nice message, Fae. You (and the others) always make my day brighter. <3 I am happy to know that you are co-hosting for FF20. You know that you are missed after being away from us for, what? two months? We are so glad you are back. 😀

      Have a lovely week, Fae. <3

  • Selma's Table
    June 14, 2014 at 1:57 am Reply

    Hello my lovely Jhuls xx First of all – I LOVE the track – Chrissy has such a lovely voice and it sounds so good with Alex’s voice and Kurt plays the piano sooooo beautifully. Thanks so much I am going to add them to my Spotify playlists. I am happy you finally got some me time even though you couldn’t sit still!! Your cake is incredibly like mine in the method – how spooky is that?!! Like Patty said, I thought that perhaps your oven is too hot and actually the temperature for your cake is a bit high – cakes are usually 180C/350F. There isn’t much sugar in your cake so that isn’t contributing to it. I love the chocolate glaze – wish I could pop over for a slice right about now! Happy Fiesta Friday, Bubbles xx

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 6:59 pm Reply

      Hi, my dear Selma. I missed you on the email. 😀

      Now, to the song – I love Chrissy and Alex when they sing together. I will never get tired of listening to them. And I always listen to them every weekend. 😀

      I did enjoy my ‘me’ time minus the book. And thank you for the info. I might need to check the temperature next time. 🙂 I am glad you loved the cake. And I am glad I heard that Bubbles again. 😀 I wish you a lovely week, Selma. 🙂

  • Michelle
    June 14, 2014 at 12:20 am Reply

    This cake looks so good, I don’t think it matters at all that the edges were slightly burned. When that happens with me I usually lower the temperature and bake it for slightly longer, usually helps.
    Sounds like you had a very unrestful weekend to me haha, being in the kitchen can be so tiring, that’s why I only bake once a week!

    I hope you have a lovely weekend this weekend though 🙂

    • Jhuls
      June 15, 2014 at 7:18 pm Reply

      Unrestful weekend, yes. But, it seemed rewarding, though. 😀

      Thank you for the tip, Michelle. I will try that next time. Sometimes I do turn off the oven and leave the pan inside for a little longer when I feel that the center is not that cooked. I usually do that when I make Egg Pies.

      I also bake once a week, and that’s on weekends only. But I sometimes bake two and cook one or two meals on the same day. 😀

      I hope you have a lovely weekend as well. <3

  • ninoalmendra
    June 14, 2014 at 12:11 am Reply

    I can feel the soft spongy and yummy taste of your Dark Choco Almond Cake in my mouth. Thanks for sharing to the FF party! And I’m almost 4months onboard, this is the first time that i get the chance to watch a Youtube video. A lot of sites are banned by our service provider due to limited net connection, so it was so cool of you to include it in this post. =)

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 7:02 pm Reply

      Thank you so much, Maia. I see what you brought and I was amazed. I saw it through Twitter… Uh, I don’t think I left you a comment. Gggrr! My bad memory strikes again. Anyway, I will check it out today itself and leave you a message. 😉 Thank you for coming over. <3

  • Nancy
    June 14, 2014 at 12:01 am Reply

    Jhuls, burnt or not, this cake sounds scrumptious to me…I love chocolate anything, and this one appears to be a winner. Hope this weekend finds you more rested and your body less fatigued. 🙂

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 7:03 pm Reply

      Thank you so much, Nancy. I had a great weekend. I hope you did, too. 🙂 And thank you so much for coming over. I hope you are better than the previous days. <3 Hugs to you…

  • chefjulianna
    June 13, 2014 at 11:07 pm Reply

    Hey Jhuls! Your cake looks and smells divine! (I can smell it from here!) You might try using stoneware for baking because it cooks evenly all around. I have some “Emile Henri” stoneware and it is wonderful, but there are other companies too. Never bake with glass because it doesn’t cook evenly. Enjoy the party!! 😀

    • Jhuls
      June 16, 2014 at 7:06 pm Reply

      Do you mean ceramic wares, Chef Julianna? Well, I have some but I don’t think they are fitted with cakes. 😀
      Thank you so much for being here. I hope you have a wonderful week, Chef Julianna. <3

  • Sinfully Tempting
    June 13, 2014 at 9:53 pm Reply

    Jhuls this cake looks incredible. If there’s one thing I can’t resist, it’s chocolate. Doesn’t matter what kind of treat, chocolate is my weakness. 😉

    As for the burning problem (and I think a few commented above regarding it) darker pans tend to cause things to burn. I tested this theory some time ago and purchased some different cookware, just to see if it would really make a difference. I found that it does, more often than not, and have strayed from using a lot of my non-stick ones. When prepared properly, I haven’t had anything burn since. Hope that helps! 🙂

    • Jhuls
      June 15, 2014 at 5:14 pm Reply

      Who could resist chocolate? 😀

      Oh, I really thought it was about the egg whites. Thank you so much for this. Have a wonderful week ahead. 🙂

  • Kaila511
    June 13, 2014 at 9:40 pm Reply

    Your almond cake looks delicious. I’m glad you got some “me” time, even if it wasn’t the calmest, and maybe you’ll get a little bit more rest this weekend. Happy Fiesta!

    • Jhuls
      June 13, 2014 at 9:46 pm Reply

      Thank you so much. I am glad you love this. I don’t think you can smell the ‘burnt’ smell because of the icing – the icing hid the flaws. 😀 Happy FF20!

    • Jhuls
      June 13, 2014 at 9:49 pm Reply

      Thank you so much and I will wait for the feedback. 😉 Thank you so much for stopping by.

      Btw, have you joined us on Fiesta Fridays? If not, I hope you’ll find time to. 🙂

  • Patty Nguyen
    June 13, 2014 at 2:21 pm Reply

    Your cake looks great, Jhuls. What kind of pan did you use? Darker coated pans tend to get hotter and cook/bake faster. I’ve read that oven temperatures need to be lowered a bit when using darker pans. I have the recommended aluminum ones because they heat fast and cool fast.

    • Jhuls
      June 13, 2014 at 2:23 pm Reply

      I used a non-stick baking pan, Patty, the gray colored ones and not the black one. Do you think that might be the reason? Thanks, Patty! <3

      • Patty Nguyen
        June 13, 2014 at 2:28 pm Reply

        I don’t think the grey ones are problematic like the black ones are. Have you calibrated your oven? You can get a cheap oven thermometer to see how accurate the temperature in your oven is. So if your oven reads at 350, but the oven thermometer says 375, you can adjust accordingly if your oven is hotter than it tells you it is! I hope that makes sense. Good luck!! 😀

  • Lori
    June 13, 2014 at 1:30 pm Reply

    Jhuls….for some reason your post showed up as Justine’s in my feeder….roflol! So, now I know YOU made this! 🙂 Your me time didn’t sound so restful… but these sure look great!

  • The Novice Gardener
    June 13, 2014 at 1:05 pm Reply

    YUM, Jhuls! I’m planning to bake a cake this weekend. Of course chocolate, but wasn’t going to add almond. I’m changing course now. I think almonds in chocolate cake would be scrumptious! Photos look awesome! <3

    • Jhuls
      June 13, 2014 at 1:26 pm Reply

      Music to my ears, Angie! I hope you’ll love it and let me know how it goes. I love almonds and chocolate together and the cake is really scrumptious!! I am so glad to see you early at the party, Angie!! Happy FF20! 🙂

    • Jhuls
      June 13, 2014 at 12:31 pm Reply

      Thank you, Nell! I like Chrissy of Against the Current – she sings lively. When you are in their channel, you’ll find more amazing cover artists. I like Alex Goot – he has so many good cover songs. Thanks for checking them out. 🙂

  • Ngan R.
    June 13, 2014 at 10:59 am Reply

    Yum, Jhuls! Looks fantastic and I cannot tell it is burnt on the bottom or sides at all. I am like you, in the kitchen for long stretches of time until it hurts. I hope you get to rest up and enjoy your book soon! xx

    • Jhuls
      June 13, 2014 at 1:36 pm Reply

      It is because I topped it with the beautiful chocolate icing. 😛 If you could only smell it, you’d know in an instant. 😀 Thank you so much, Ngan! Happy FF20! 🙂

  • apsara
    June 13, 2014 at 10:19 am Reply

    I can completely connect with you when you say you have had a tiring day in the kitchen. It happens to me when preparing a meal for many people, but it is rewarding in the end when they like it! The cake looks excellent!

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