Bitter chocolate and almond cake

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Generously grease a 23cm springform cake tin with butter and line the base with baking paper

Place the almonds in a small food processor and blitz until coarsely chopped. Remove a third of them, blitz again until moderately fine, then remove another third. Blitz the remaining until fine. This ensures a range of textures in the cake. Remove, mix together and set aside

Place the chocolate into a bain-marie (a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water) and allow it to melt, stirring occasionally

Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in the butter to melt it

Stir in the caster sugar, ground almonds and a small pinch of sea salt. Set aside to cool slightly

Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites to soft, fluffy peaks

Once the chocolate mixture has cooled slightly, stir in the egg yolks until well combined. Using a large metal spoon, stir in 1 heaped spoonful of the whisked egg whites. Once this spoonful is fully incorporated, gently fold in the remaining egg whites

Gently pour the batter into the prepared cake tin (being careful to not knock out any air) and sprinkle the top with a generous amount of flaky sea salt. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is crackled and the cake feels slightly springy to the touch

Allow the cake to cool in the tin before removing and placing on a wire rack. Cut into slices to serve with a spoonful of crème fraîche