Italian flourless chocolate torte

Butter an 8-inch cake pan generously, lay a round of parchment in the bottom, toss in a little flour and rotate and knock the pan until the flour sticks to the butter, then knock out the excess.

Put six ounces of broken dark chocolate and some cubed butter in a bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water on low heat and let them melt, stirring until very smooth.

Off the heat stir in unsweetened cocoa powder, a nice big pinch of salt, about a tablespoon of coffee liqueur, a very small shake of cayenne and one cup of almond meal, mixing thoroughly.

Crack four large room temperature eggs into another bowl with a touch of white sugar and mix on high with an electric hand mixer until very light, fluffy and thick.

Add the chocolate mixture and fold it in semi-gently, bringing the mixture from the sides and bottom up over the top with the occasional stir, so the air bubbles survive and the cake stays light.

Transfer it into the prepared pan and tap it to bring the larger bubbles to the surface.

Bake in the centre of a 350 degree oven about 25 to 30 minutes; a wooden skewer near the centre should come out almost clean with a little chocolate smudge, not raw batter.

Cool it in the pan 30 minutes, during which it sinks a little, running a thin knife around the outside so it does not stick.

Lay a round of parchment and a plate over the top and flip it out.

Cool completely, ideally wrapped and refrigerated overnight, and serve it chilled.

Dust the top very generously with cocoa.

Rest a cooling rack on two ramekins so it sits just above the surface, dust powdered sugar over it and lift it away to leave lines.

Finish with six raspberries in a heart design in the centre and cut a wedge to serve.