CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND CAKE

Last year, at Christmas time, a friend of my sister in law made this cake that we were so lucky to taste. It was wonderful and I immediately asked her for the recipe. She said it was a recipe that her family had been passing on for generations. It seems very simple, but it is very important to chop the ingredients in the right way, they don't have to be neither too small nor too big. I've tried to replicate it a couple of times and it has been successful among family and friends. It is best accompanied by vanilla custard or whipped cream.

Ingredients:

 

200 g icing sugar

5 eggs

200 g  margarine (or butter, but you get best results with margarine)

A pinch of baking powder

250 g almonds (with skin)

10  Morning coffee biscuits ( Waitrose or Sainsbury)

200 g dark chocolate

 

Turn on the oven to 180 degrees.

Melt the margarine in the microwave then let it cool ( I usually put it in the freezer for a few minutes, but be careful it doesn't freeze, it just needs to cool).

Chop the almonds in a food porcessor, but be careful they don't become a powder.

Chop the biscuits: I put them in a plastic bag and crack them using a meat mallet or a full bottle.

Cut the chocolate using a sharp knife. The pieces have to be even smaller than the ones in the picture.    

Beat the eggs with the sugar for several minutes, until the volume has doubled.
             
Now add the almonds to the mixture, then the biscuits, the baking powder, the chocolate and the margarine. Mix well with a wooden spoon after you add every ingredient.                                                                                                                             

Now pour the mixture in a baking tin and cook for about 30/40 minutes.