Melt our hearts: Salvador Dali-inspired flourless chestnut, chocolate and rum cake 

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Melt our hearts: Salvador Dali-inspired flourless chestnut, chocolate and rum cake

By Sue Quinn

Published: | Updated:

This gorgeously gooey flourless cake was inspired by ‘Chocolate with Rum’, a recipe in Salvador Dalí’s fantastical cookbook Les Dîners de Gala. There’s nothing surreal about this very rich cake, which makes an excellent and easy dessert.

SERVES 8-10

PREP 45 minutes, plus cooling

COOK 1 hour 25 minutes

300ml dark rum

150g pitted prunes

200g unsalted butter, roughly chopped, plus extra for greasing

200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped

200g caster sugar

200g chestnut purée

3 large eggs, separated

generous pinch of salt

cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)

crème fraîche, to serve

  • Place the rum and prunes in a pan, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for at least 15 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 160C/ 140C fan/gas 3 and butter and line the base of a 20cm loose-bottomed or springform cake tin with baking paper.
  • Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Remove the bowl from the pan and set aside to cool a little.
  • Place the butter, sugar, chestnut purée, egg yolks, salt and the prunes with their rum in a food processor and blitz until smooth and creamy. Add the melted, cooled chocolate and blitz again until completely combined. Scrape into a mixing bowl.
  • Beat the egg whites in a scrupulously clean bowl with electric beaters or in a stand mixer until stiff but not too firm or dry, or you won’t be able to fold them easily into the chocolate mixture.
  • Beat one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen, then gently and gradually fold in the rest – don’t be tempted to beat or you will lose the air. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top.
  • Bake for 1 hour-1 ¼ hours: when done, the cake should be dry and firm on top (but not springy, as it will be mousse-like in the centre) and coming away from the edges of the tin.
  • Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes; it will shrink a bit but that is as it should be and will firm up a little as it cools. Release from the tin and sit on a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Dust with sifted cocoa – this isn’t essential but adds a lovely bitter note – and serve with cold crème fraîche.