Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) (without fan).
2. Line a 20 cm (8 inch) springform cake pan with baking paper and butter the sides.
3. Place the chocolate and butter into a bain-marie (or a double-boiler or a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water), and melt over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. Using a stand mixer or an electric hand whisk, whisk the eggs and sugar on medium to high speed until the mixture is pale and mousse-like. The mixture should have nearly tripled in volume by this stage.
5. Slowly mix through the ground almonds, cocoa powder, Amaretto liqueur, and melted chocolate mixture. The consistency of the batter should be similar to a raw chocolate mousse.
6. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan.
7. Bake the cake for about 25 minutes, or until a cake skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Unfortunately, a cake skewer will leave a hole in your cake and may even cause the top of the cake to crack. I would suggest giving the cake pan a gentle shake – if the centre of the cake wobbles, you will need to bake for another 5 minutes or so. I would use a cake skewer only as the last step.
8. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack.
9. Carefully remove the cooled cake to a serving plate or cake stand. The cake is likely to crack during this process, if it hasn’t already done so upon cooling.
10. Generously dust some cocoa powder onto the cake using a fine sieve.
11. To make the cream, whisk the double cream with the Amaretto liqueur until it has thickened with soft peaks.
12. Place the whipped cream into a small serving bowl and crumble over some crushed amaretti biscuits to decorate.
13. To serve, place a generous spoonful of whipped cream alongside a slice of cake, and allow guests to crumble more amaretti biscuits onto the cream.
14. It is also not a bad idea to serve some small glasses of Amaretto liqueur alongside.