GF Chocolate Cardamom & Hazelnut Torte

As a business that supplies food and drink to the public, it’s incredibly important to offer gluten-free options on your menu, as well as a full allergen card of the menu. People with coeliac disease, and the friends and family they eat with, are worth an estimated £100 million to the hospitality industry. So whether you make an entire gluten-free menu or simply make some tweaks to original dishes, it really is worth investing the time in.

150g gluten-free dark chocolate
125g butter
6 eggs – separated
125g golden caster sugar
150g blanched hazelnuts
8 green cardamom pods
1 tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
Crème fraîche, ice cream or extra thick cream to serve

Method

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until golden, then leave to cool slightly and blitz to a fine consistency in a food processor.
Remove the cardamom seeds from their pods and grind using a pestle and mortar.
Heat oven to 160C (140 if fan oven) and grease and line the base of a 23cm spring-form cake tin.
Use a microwave to melt the chocolate with the butter in 30-sec bursts until glossy and smooth or melt over a bain marie – leave to cool slightly.
Using an electric whisk, whisk the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. Then whisk the yolks with the sugar in a separate bowl, until pale.
Combine the chocolate with the egg yolk mixture, then incorporate the cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, the cardamom seeds and hazelnuts.
Add a spoonful of egg white to the batter, stirring it through to loosen the mix, then fold in the rest, taking care to keep in as much air as possible.
Gently pour into the tin and bake for 35 mins.
Leave to cool in the tin, then dust with cocoa powder and serve with crème fraîche, berries and a sprig of fresh mint.