Hazelnut Blackberry Torte

Baking this reminds me that I really need to have a visit back to Paris. This is the exact kind of cake you would find in a patisserie in little slices to have with your coffee outside. It's rich with chocolate and hazelnut, studded with juicy blackberries - the perfect dessert with softly whipped cream and homemade blackberry compote. 

It's very straight forward to make and keeps beautifully and becomes easier to slice a few days after its baked. The absence of flour in this makes it deliciously fudgy and moist. Now, more than ever, I crave simplicity. Cakes that are pure and combine a few key flavours to achieve something sublime. 

*For the ground hazelnuts, these can easily be done by buying blanched hazelnuts and processing them until well ground. Otherwise, you can buy them ready ground in some supermarkets. 

Hazelnut Blackberry Torte 

Serves 10 

Ingredients: 

75g/3oz butter , in cubes 
75g/3oz dark chocolate, chopped
4 eggs, separated
100g/3 1/2oz caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
25g/1oz cocoa powder, sifted
125g/4oz ground hazelnuts* 
8 blackberries, halved 
Icing sugar to dust

For the blackberry compote: 

7oz/200g fresh blackberries 
2 tbsp caster sugar 

Whipped cream/creme fraiche to serve (I insist) 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and flour a 24cm/9 inch spring form pan. Place the butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a simmering pan of water. Melt over a medium heat and remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. 

2. Combine the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until thick and pale. Mix in the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Rather like making brownies. Add in the cocoa and ground hazelnuts and stir until well combined. 

3. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until firm peaks form. Stir in a quarter vigorously (this is to slacken the mixture off so more can be added easily, so don't worry at all about being gently to avoid knocking air out). With the remaining egg whites, fold these in gently but thoroughly, scraping down to the very bottom of the bowl to ensure the mixture is streak free. 

4. Pour in the prepared tin, dot the blackberries in a pattern in the cake and bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes and turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with a little icing sugar for that freshly baked look. 

5. To make the compote: cook the blackberries with the sugar over a high heat in a small saucepan until the berries begin to release their juices. Turn the heat down to medium, ut a lid on a cook until the blackberries soften. Mash this with a fork (or strain through a sieve if you like it smoother and more coulis like) and allow to cool before serving with little slices of your torte.