There are two occasions where I like to make myself a cake. One is Valentine’s day, the other is Mother’s Day. It’s a treat to myself. I love baking, so it isn’t a chore nor a bore for me. This year, I’m making myself a dark chocolate whiskey cake (which also happens to be gluten free) for Valentine’s Day which I will be sharing with Joe Talbot over at BBC Surrey this Friday. Tune in (1.45pm) to hear what he thinks of it.
Rediscovering whiskey is a recent taste revival for me. I went off it after drinking far too much of it as a teenager along with those other sweet teen classics – Southern Comfort, Bacardi and Peach Schnapps. I added it to the menu for the January supper club and realised it is very good indeed when paired with chocolate and cream – just like Baileys. The Burns night whiskey truffles, whiskey drenched Cranachan and whiskey campfire welcome cocktails have persuaded back into the world of whiskey once more.
My other necessity for Valentine’s day is chocolate. Whether it be a mousse, tart, cookie or profiteroles – I don’t mind. Or bar or two of Pump Street chocolate or Pana raw chocolate would be just perfect. 
This dark chocolate whiskey cake has a squidgy, sumptuous texture quite unlike any other cake – probably due to the generous volume of whiskey. It rises beautifully thanks to the whipped egg whites and the ground almonds which replace the flour soak up all of the alcohol to produce a fudgy, dense truffle-like consistency. A bowl lightly whipped cream and fresh raspberries to turn this cake into a truly scrumptious Valentine’s Day treat.
Here are some more tempting chocolate ideas for Valentine’s Day:
Double chocolate brownie style waffles
Vegan peanut butter avocado brownies
Salted butterscotch chocolate fondants
Dark Chocolate Whiskey Cake (GF) for Valentine’s Day
Ingredients
- 150 g dark chocolate
- 225 g unsalted butter softened
- 225 g light brown sugar
- 4 medium eggs separated
- 200 g ground almonds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100 ml whiskey
- Cocoa powder for decoration
- Whiskey truffles for decoration
Instructions
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Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees
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Grease and line a 20cm cake tin with baking parchment
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Melt the chocolate (broken into small pieces) over a pan of simmering water, allow to cool slightly
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Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer until pale in colour
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Add in the egg yolks, one at a time and continue whisking the cake batter
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Next, fold in the whiskey followed by the melted chocolate
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Add in the ground almonds and baking powder, stirring well to combine
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Whisk up the egg whites (to soft peaks) then fold them into the cake mixture in two batches
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Put the cake mix into the lined baking tin and bake for between 65-70 minutes
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Once the cake is completely cool, dust with cocoa powder and garnish with whiskey truffles
Recipe Notes
This cake is best served with lightly whipped cream and fresh raspberries. It keeps well in an airtight container and is even better after a day or two when the whiskey flavour develops and keeps the cake fudgy in texture.
This cake looks so lush! Love that you topped it with even more chocolate in the form of truffles 😀 Looks so rich and indulgent 🙂
Definitely only for serious chocolate fans!
Oh my this cake looks amazing and as I have so much whisky in the house that I don’t drink I think I have to make this very soon-) Thanks for linking to my recipe:-)
Anything containing chocolate is the perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day. This looks wonderful. 🙂
Thanks Jemma!
Love a bit of chocolate indulgence on celebratory occasions, or indeed on any occasion!
This looks fabulous and contains two of my hubby’s favourite things – dark chocolate and whisky! I think I just found his birthday cake for this year… 🙂
Great news hope he likes it!
This sounds fantastic, Laura! I must admit to not being a whiskey fan as a drink, but whiskey IN things is another story. Gorgeous images, too. 🙂
I’m definitely using it more now Kellie, as long as it’s good whiskey!
Wow, looks delicious Laura, so fudgy and the whisky would be great to ward against the cold right now!
It would Lucy, with a glass of whiskey to go with it!
Ooh, this does look good Laura. Chocolate and whisky has become one of my favourite combinations. I used to hate the taste of whisky – must be the aging process! Also love these sort of truffley cakes made with almonds. Yum. Thanks for linking-up with #WeShouldCocoa. It’s been a while 😀
It has indeed Choclette, too long!