A slice of goodness: Chilled chocolate macadamia cake 

Just as indulgent dished up for pud as with a cuppa. One of the best routes to a 50% cocoa chocolate is to mix half a 30% cocoa milk chocolate with half a 70% cocoa dark chocolate.

MAKES 1 small loaf

90ml rapeseed oil, plus extra for greasing the tin

150g dark chocolate (about 50% cocoa), broken up

75g dark brown soft sugar

2 medium eggs

60g ground almonds

50g buckwheat flour

1 rounded tsp baking powder, sifted

3 tbsp strong black coffee

50g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa), chopped

75g macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

50g medjool dates, halved lengthways, pitted and sliced across

2 tbsp date syrup

• Preheat the oven to 170C/ 150C fan/gas 3½. Brush a 1lb nonstick loaf tin with oil and line the base with baking paper.
• Gently melt the 50% cocoa chocolate with the oil in a bowl set over a pan with a little simmering water in it. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and whisk to get rid of any lumps.
• One at a time, add the eggs to the chocolate mixture, beating well after each addition and continuing to beat at the end until the mixture is very glossy and amalgamated. Gently fold in the ground almonds, flour and baking powder. Stir in the coffee, and fold in the chopped 70% cocoa chocolate, 50g of the nuts and the dates, separating out the pieces. Transfer the cake mixture to the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until risen but a skewer inserted at the middle comes out slightly wet, as the cake should remain gooey in the centre once cool. Run a knife around the edge of the tin and leave the cake to cool – it will sink a little in the centre.
• Turn out the cooled cake, placing it base upwards and peel off the paper. Gently heat the date syrup in a pan until runny. Trickle this over the cake and let it run down the sides, then use a brush to spread it over the top. Finish by scattering over the remaining nuts. Chill for several hours or overnight until fudgy. This will keep well, loosely covered, for at least a couple of days.