Gluten-free dark chocolate cake

1 Heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.

2 Break the dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl, then set over a pan of barely simmering water to melt (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Meanwhile, put the coconut sugar and low-fat spread in a food processor and whiz for a few min until the mixture is pale and creamy.

3 Cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds, then add to the processor along with the egg yolks, melted chocolate and ground almonds. Whiz again until combined. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.

4 In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with an electric hand whisk, then gently fold into the chocolate mixture to combine, taking care not to knock out the air.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, then bake for 20 min or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 min in the tin, then turn out on to a rack to cool completely.