Shaheen Peerbhai's Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

INGREDIENTS

110g dark chocolate (54%)

20g milk chocolate

70g butter

90g egg whites (3)

90g light brown sugar

90g ground hazelnuts

20g icing sugar

3g salt

40g flour

4g baking powder

50g egg (1)

20g egg yolk (1)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.

Melt the milk chocolate, butter and 40g of the dark chocolate together. Reserve the remaining dark chocolate to fold into the batter later.

In a bowl whisk together the egg whites with a tablespoon of the brown sugar until firm peaks form.

In another bowl, whisk together the remaining brown sugar, icing sugar, salt, flour, baking powder and ground hazelnuts. Beat the egg and egg yolk into this mixture.

Next, fold in the egg whites and remaining chocolate.

The cake batter should be light and airy. Pour it into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool and slice.

Classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu Paris and Alain Ducasse Education, and co-authoring her first cookbook Paris Picnic Club (launching Spring 2017), food blogger and chef Shaheen Peerbhai, the Purple Foodie returns to India to teach classes in tea time treats, plated desserts, breads and savouries, pastry and more. See the class menu here and sign up for her baking classes in Bombay, Bangalore or Delhi this August and September.