Elizabeth David’s Chocolate Cake

Where does one start with a woman like Elizabeth David? Well, perhaps we can start with something this perfect flourless chocolate cake. A slight crust on top, moist inside, this barely-an-inch-tall cake is decadent, yet light, and disappears when it hits your mouth like a kiss. This cake must have had such an impact on ordinary British kitchens in 1960 when this recipe came out in Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking. She is truly one of the reasons that we are all now obsessed with food.

English food writer Jane Grigson says it all when she describes, “Basil was no more than the name of bachelor uncles, courgette was printed in italics as an alien word, and few of us knew how to eat spaghetti or pick a globe artichoke to pieces. … Then came Elizabeth David like sunshine, writing with brief elegance about good food, that is, about food well contrived, well cooked. She made us understand that we could do better with what we had.”

I can’t help but feel an affinity with Elizabeth David, perhaps for her art background and nomadic tendencies. Born in 1913, she studied art in Paris, and led an expat life, first in Greece then Egypt, before returning to post-war England where she found the food less than acceptable. She wrote about real food, the genuine food of her travels (particularly French and Italian cooking) and the places she had lived. She not only introduced Britain to colourful and fresh flavours of the Mediterranean but also to the absolute pleasure of food and eating.

She fiercely protected the integrity of food. I love her articles in Is There a Nutmeg in the House? and An Omelette and a Glass of Wine on the British misuse of risotto and pizza as an “empty the fridge” dish, even decades after she had showed them better, or the uselessness of the garlic press (she refused to sell them in her kitchenware shop that she eventually opened), the under-use of nutmeg and the horrors of the stock cube.

One of my favourite accounts by far about Elizabeth David (and this gorgeous chocolate cake) has to be the one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from the forward of At Elizabeth David’s Table.

I met Elizabeth David in the spring of 1989 while working at the River Café. I was doing puddings at the time and when I came into work Rose Gray said to me, ‘Elizabeth David’s coming to lunch, and I want you to put her chocolate cake on the menu.’ She meant the famous one from French Provincial Cooking, with ground almonds instead of flour, and a dash of strong coffee, and I was cooking it once or twice a week at the time. But what Rose didn’t know, and ED certainly didn’t know, was that I’d slowly been upping the amount of chocolate in the recipe, to the point where it was nearly double the original quantity.

I felt that made it a richer, more indulgent cake, not better than the original, but more suitable for pudding. Dilemma! Go back to the original recipe, or present my bastardised version to the great lady herself? Well, I guess it’s a mark of my youthful arrogance that I chose the latter option.

No great surprise that when it came to pudding she ordered the cake which had her name on it.

I watched from the wings nervously as she worked her way through it, a modest spoonful at a time, while chatting to her companion, until all that was left on her plate were a few chocolatey crumbs and an untouched blob of crème fraîche, which we always served with the cake. She clearly didn’t approve of that. But the cake, at least, seemed to pass muster. Well, I thought to myself, she’s getting on a bit, probably hasn’t even made the cake for a couple of decades. I went back to work, smiling to myself.

A few minutes later, Rose tapped me on the shoulder. ‘Elizabeth would like a word with you…’

My legs turned to jelly and, as I stumbled over to her table, my mouth went peanut-butter dry.

‘You cooked this cake?’ She fixed me with her bright, all-seeing eyes. I wanted to run and I wanted to lie, but I knew I couldn’t do either. ‘Er, yes, I did.’

‘But it’s different from the one in the book, isn’t it?’

‘Er, just a bit. I’ve… er… bit more chocolate…’ I mumbled. She held her look and

I realised a deeper explanation was required. ‘Bit… richer… more puddingy.’

She let me ramble on, reddening, for a few seconds, then stopped me with a slight but firm raising of her scant eyebrows.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘whatever you’ve done to it, it’s good.’ She turned back to her companion and, realising the discussion was over, I nodded my thanks and sloped away.

I have never received a more thrilling compliment for anything that I have ever cooked. And I never will.

Elizabeth David’s Chocolate Cake

Elizabeth David’s flourless chocolate cake could not be simpler nor more delectable.

  • 115 g bitter dark chocolate
  • 85 g caster sugar
  • 85 g butter
  • 85 g almond meal
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • a dash of black coffee
  • 1 tbs rum

Preheat oven to 145°C.

Melt chocolate in a cool oven or in a double broiler. Add the shots of coffee and rum, then, while the chocolate is still warm, stir in the butter, it should melt and combine to a smooth mixture. Add the sugar and ground almonds. When the chocolate mixture is cool, stir in the egg yolks one by one.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks then fold them gently into the chocolate batter.

Pour into a buttered tart or cake tin with a removable base. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until set and a crust forms on top. If you can like you can dust with icing sugar, but this beautiful cake is best left simple in my opinion.

Comments

  1. Zita says:

    I loved the video. I watched it a couple of days earlier. Great post, Emiko! Oh, and yummie chocolate cake! 🙂

  2. Rossella says:

    Video and music are fantastic. You captured exactly the romantic sweetness of chocolate 🙂 I want that cake!

  3. This post made me smile – I love the Hugh F-W story. And your video is absolutely beautiful – a fitting tribute to a fabulous cook.

    • Emiko says:

      Thank you! This comment really made my day 🙂

    • Natalie says:

      I have made this cake many times now for friends and family. It is always lovely. Chocolately. Delicious. People eat it quietly and with reverence, once they’ve tasted it. I am baking the cake just now for a friend’s birthday. She just had a 2nd baby 3 months ago so I am making her and her family a portable birthday meal.

  4. Christy says:

    Great post. I’ve been re-reading the Omlette and Glass of Wine book this month, so the Hugh F. story was very fun to read. Your video is terrific also. Thanks for the reminder as to one of the reasons why we all love food so much!

  5. Giulia says:

    you know I love her, she’s my favourite food-writer, too.
    She’s able to speak directly at you, opening your mind to a new world of sensations, smells and crystal clear definitions. I love her, and I love her cake as well!

  6. The video is wonderful and I enjoyed the story you shared here very much. This chocolate cake should be in every home cook’s repertoire. Divine.

  7. What a gorgeous post and video! I love Elizabeth David too – Jane Grigson is another favourite.

    Is this cake the ancestor of the River Cafe’s chocolate nemesis? I had a wonderful meal there a few years ago.

    • Emiko says:

      Thanks Emma! i’ve never had the pleasure of eating at the River Cafe but it sounds like Elizabeth David had quite an influence there. I’ll also have to get my hands on a Jane Grigson cookbook…

    • Jen says:

      Yes. I’ve had the Chocolate Nemesis cake at the River Cafe, and – in an attempt to recreate it – doubled the amount of the chocolate in Elizabeth David’s recipe to make Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s version. It was SPOT ON. Exactly the same thing!

      • Emiko says:

        I’ve always made this cake exactly as the original states… but I’m pretty curious to double the chocolate now, I think I’ll have to do it next time I make this!

  8. Surely a perfect piece of writing! We’ve book marked it and sent it out to all of my friends since I know they’ll be intrigued, thank you very much!

  9. Sherry Davis says:

    Up until now, I knew 2 versions of the cake: the original and Laurie Colwins. This afternoon, I’m about to do it quickly to carry into Manhattan for a friends birthday – and I couldn’t find my copy of Elizabeth David. This was a great help! I really loved the story that you enclosed. Proof that even great recipes can be tampered with. That said, the original is loaded with chocolate. I have been known to add a little almond essence. I was really looking for some advice about the alcohol. Colwin uses brandy and the original recipe, rum. I only have whisky in the house, and I just don’t know about using that.

    • Emiko says:

      I’ve made it with brandy too (wonderful), not sure about the whisky but I’d imagine it would be just as suitable – or, just leave it out, I can assure you the cake is still gorgeous that way too! 🙂

  10. PK says:

    Hi,
    Can you specify the size of the cake tin? I need to make a kosher birthday cake for Passover and would love to try this one! I might do two of these and layer them……might be very rich but yummy!
    P 🙂

    • Emiko says:

      I used a regular 26cm (about 10 inch) cake tin. It will certainly be a rich cake when layered (it’s deliciously rich just on its own!) so you may want to consider something very simple and probably unsweetened for the middle, like stiffly whipped fresh cream perhaps? Good luck!

  11. Lucy says:

    What a great post. Love the video and the HFW story. I presume this is the original quantity of chocolate and not the HFW quantity?! 🙂

  12. Yuli says:

    Promised the family a chocolate cake and found your post. 1989 River Cafe was a postage stamp size kitchen and one small dining room and I first had the cake (HFW version I assume) then on my first day at work across the courtyard.
    Lets see how I go today….

  13. Carolee says:

    Will this work as a mini cake if I cut ingredients in half.

  14. Isa says:

    Lovely post, and great cake recipe- as always.
    Any sense of a) whether and b) how best to store the cake? Does it keep well (for a day or so) or is it something to be best eaten right out of the oven? Should it be stored in the fridge or not (living in the UK, so room temperature usually doesn’t reach 21 degrees C…)?

    Many thanks!

    • Emiko Davies says:

      You’re welcome! It keeps really well — actually I’d say it’s maybe even better a day or two after baking! It’s probably best stored in the fridge as it’s a fudgy sort of cake but if it’s not too hot and you think it’ll be gone in a couple of days (like it is around here), room temperature is fine. It’s definitely nicer room temp than fridge cold, so if storing in the fridge let it come to room temp again before serving.

  15. Jane says:

    Hi Emiko,

    I came across this blog post (I have perused your beautiful blog many times before) through a link on Sophie Hansen’s Local is Lovely blog. I was searching for a dessert that would meet the tastes of 12 people so I thought this chocolate cake sounded delicious- and I was right! I served it topped with roasted rhubarb as I have an abundance of it in the garden.
    I also loved the video – I watched it twice before preparing and appreciated being able to see how the texture of your cake looked. And, the term ‘fold’ always makes me a little nervous, so I felt more confident after watching your video.
    Thanks again, Jane

  16. Cange Radatti says:

    Hello Emiko,

    Can’t wait to make these chocolate cakes yours, Hugh’s & Elizabeth Davies. I’m reading your blog this leisurely Sunday morning as was thinking about the grape schiacciata we made with you at Tamsin’s Table. What a divine day that was & I hope you will come back for another day of cooking. I love reading your blogs so thank you for your beautiful writing & photos & your divine recipes.

    Cange
    Arcangelina Radatti

  17. Susie says:

    I have just read the above story – such a beautiful read, it made me smile. I cannot wait to make this cake. I have just started a recipe swap group with some girl friends – I am sure this recipe will be on my list! Thank you for sharing.

  18. Robbert Voges says:

    what would be a good alternative for the almond meal for someone who is allergic to nuts?

    • Emiko Davies says:

      You can simply use regular flour! Obviously it will no longer be “flourless” but that is no doubt a better choice for those with nut allergies! It comes out just lovely all the same, and you can reduce the amount of flour too for that fudginess, sometimes I just use 2 tablespoons of flour.

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