Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. Wheat Free.

My word, if I do say so myself, I have invented THE BEST cake ever. And the wonderful thing for those gluten intolerant bods out there - it is wheat free.

The hubbie and I are currently experimenting with cutting out wheat to see if it does have the good effect some people claim.  It is now a week into the experiment and I'm not missing wheat at all although I'm not sure whether my 'lighter' feeling is psychosomatic rather than actually due to a lack of wheat.  Anyway, regardless of whether we start eating wheat again, I will always make this cake.  It is a little like a french macaroon - a slightly crispy brownie outer with an unbelievably soft and light middle.

The combo of peanut butter and chocolate is not ground-breaking, but is incredibly delicious.  I like to eat this with a cup of tea and a dollop of creme fraiche but it would also work incredibly well as a smart pud.  It doesn't need any sort of icing it is just perfect as it is.  Oh and while I used delicious unsweetened cocoa powder that I picked up in Madagascar...

...if you can't find any unsweetened stuff reduce the sugar a little.

Ingredients  (20 cm cake)

55 g bornville/dark chocolate
150 g butter
50 g ground almonds
50 g rice flour
100 g chunky peanut butter (a non-added sugar variety, ideally get a 100% peanut one, like the organic Woolworths version)
50 g unsweetened cocoa powder
100 g brown sugar
100 g caster sugar
3 eggs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line a 20 cm circular cake tin.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in a large bowl and place in the microwave.  Heat for a minute of so, or until the butter is melted.  Remove and stir until the chocolate is melted and combined with the butter.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl bar the eggs.  Mix well.  Add one whole egg and the egg yolks of the other two, keeping the whites.

4. Whisk the whites in a separate bowl until stiff and then gently fold into the cake mixture.

5. Pour into the prepared tin, level the top and pop in the oven for 45 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes on a wire rack, then turn out of the tin and allow to cool completely on the rack.

Store in an airtight container. Divine.