(continued)…rye bread crumbs (usually known as Pumpernickel) and a ground brazil nut/walnut combination. The tart blackberry icing makes a nice contrast with the chocolaty sweetness of the cake.
INGREDIENTS
100 gr. (about 3 oz.) dark Pumpernickel rye bread
100 gr. (about 3 oz.) ground Brazil nuts (or in a combination with walnuts)
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking powder + 1/4 tsp. baking soda
75 gr. (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp.) coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
2 eggs (separated)
2 “flax eggs”* (2 tbsp. ground flax meal + 5 tbsp. water soaked for 10-15 min. or more)
30 gr. (1/3 of a small bar) dark chocolate chopped
* You can use 2 regular eggs if you wish
topping: 1 cup blackberries, 1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipping cream
PROCEDURE
1. Blitz the bread into fine crumbs in a food processor.
2. Mix in the ground nuts, half of the sugar, baking powder and flax egg mixture.
3. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks.
4. Beat egg yolks until fluffy adding the second half of the sugar gradually.
5. Mix the above egg yolk mixture into the crumb/nut mixture.
6. Fold in the chopped chocolate.
7. Carefully fold in the beaten egg whites.
8. Bake in a 9″ (22 cm) greased parchment paper lined cake pan in a preheated 180deg C (370deg F) oven for 30 min. or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing the cake onto a cooling rack and peeling off the parchment paper. Frost with the following topping when cake is cooled. Decorate with the reserved blackberries.
Blackberry topping: Boil 1/2 the berries in a small saucepan together with 1 tbsp water and 1 tbsp. of the powdered sugar for about 2-3 minutes. Then press the juice of the berries through a small sieve. In a small bowl add the rest of the powdered sugar and mix in enough of the blackberry juice to form a creamy icing (don’t add too much to avoid a runny icing). Smooth the icing over the cake and decorate it with the reserved blackberries. Serve with sweetened whipped cream if desired.