Mini Chocolate Almond Cakes with Blackberry Buttercream and Chocolate Glaze
Intensely chocolatey cakes with blackberry buttercream and rich chocolate glaze. Bake in a mini sandwich tin, as cupcakes, or make a 20cm (8in) round cake.
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and grease a mini sandwich tin with butter. Alternatively line a muffin tin with cupcake cases or use a greased silicone muffin tin or round cake tin, greased and lined.
Beat the egg whites and salt until you have stiff peaks and set aside.
Place the chocolate and butter in a small pot and melt gently over very low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
Stir in the egg yolks, vanilla paste and sugar. Sift in the almonds and flour and stir together until smooth.
Add a third of the egg whites to loosen to the batter and then gently fold the rest.
Fill the mini sandwich tin or cupcake cases about halfway up and bake for 20-23 minutes for mini cakes/cupcakes or up to 40-45 minutes for a cake. The surface of the cakes will crackle a little - that's normal. Cool in the tin and then carefully turn out.
Put the blackberries, sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook until the blackberries burst and release their juices then strain the pulp and reserve the syrup.
Beat the icing sugar and butter until fluffy and then gradually add the double cream and enough of the blackberry syrup to get a lovely colour.
Put the chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream and golden syrup until almost boiling then pour over the chocolate. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes then stir until silky smooth. Add the milk if you need to thin it out slightly.
If you wish to layer the cakes, then cut them in half and level if needed. Sandwich together with a little of the buttercream and then drizzle with the chocolate glaze until it starts to drip down the sides. Decorate with cocoa nibs or edible flowers (I used lilacs). The cakes keep very well for a couple of days.
Notes
If you make cupcakes you can use the buttercream to frost them and drizzle with a little chocolate sauce. Or you can frost them with the glaze which will thicken as it cools.