Method

​1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4. Grease and line an 18cm round, loose-bottomed tin.

2 In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter on a low–medium heat, then add the coffee granules into the pan and stir until dissolved. Then remove from the heat, add all the chocolate. Set aside to allow the chocolate to slowly melt.

3 Meanwhile, put the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk up until they begin to go a bit lighter in colour. This will probably take 2-3 minutes with an electric whisk and longer by hand. They won’t get really fluffy but will just be nice and creamy.

4 Once the chocolate has melted, give the mixture a good stir to combine, then slowly pour it into the egg yolks and stir together gently.

5 Next whisk up the egg whites in a large clean bowl until they start to go white but not yet foamy. Then, while still whisking, add the caster sugar and allow the mixture to form a foamy meringue (rather than the usual stiff glossy mixture).

6 Add a big spoon of this meringue into the chocolate mixture and mix everything together well. Then gently fold in half of the remaining meringue, trying to keep as much air in the mixture as possible. Finally, add the rest of the meringue and fold gently until combined.

7 Gently pour the mixture into the tin. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon and bake in the oven for 45–50 minutes. The cake should be soft to the touch and a knife/skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

8 Allow to cool in the tin with an expected slight dip in the centre of the torte. Remove from the tin and dust with the cocoa powder. I like to serve with ice-cream and a handful of raspberries