Chocolate cake with rum glaze and almond praline

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C and butter a 20cm round tin or a ring tin. Dust the inside of the tin with a mixture of flour and caster sugar. (If you use a ring tin, you may have a little too much cake mixture – bake any leftovers in paper cases as chocolate cupcakes.)

2.Cream the butter and the sugars for 5 minutes until very soft and fluffy, using an electric mixer. Add the beaten eggs 1 tablespoon at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and rum, if using. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated.

3.Sift together the dry ingredients and a pinch of salt. Fold dry ingredients into creamed mixture in three lots, alternating with the buttermilk. When everything is smoothly combined, spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and level the top.

4.Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top of the cake springs back when pressed lightly with a finger and the cake is pulling away from the sides of the tin.

5.Cool on a rack for 10 minutes then carefully turn out onto another rack and leave to cool completely.

6.To make the almond praline, put the whole almonds and sugar into a small, heavy-based pan. Put over a medium heat and stir gently with a wooden spoon until the sugar has melted to a dark golden caramel and the almonds smell slightly toasted. This will take 6-7 minutes, so be patient and don’t leave the pan unattended.

7.Tip the mixture quickly onto a heavy, lightly oiled baking sheet and spread out to a single layer of almonds, using the wooden spoon. (Be very careful because the caramel is extremely hot.) Leave to cool and set hard, then break it up with your hands and bash into shards and crumbs in a mortar and pestle, or put pieces in a ziplock bag and bash with a heavy rolling pin. Store in an airtight jar; this recipe makes about ½ cup.

8.To make the glaze, chop chocolate into small pieces and put in a heatproof bowl with the butter. Place bowl over a pan of hot (but not boiling) water. Leave until the chocolate begins to melt, and then stir gently until the chocolate and butter are amalgamated and the glaze is smooth and shiny. Stir in the rum or liqueur 1 tablespoon at a time

9.Leave glaze to cool and thicken a little and then spoon it over the cake on a serving plate. Before the glaze sets, use a spatula to press crumbs of praline against the lower sides of the cake. Serve as it is or with berries and cream.