Hot Pepper Chocolate Cake by Trotter’s Independent Condiments

I started the company back in November 2009 after I had finished university. I graduated in Event Management the same year but job hunting was not successful. The recession had hit the industry, and more people were being made redundant than they were hired.

Meanwhile, Mum and Dad had been on holiday in Italy where they came across a delicious condiment that they loved called Mostarda. Mum tried but failed to find a manufacturer in Scotland, so instead she found a recipe online and whipped up a batch in the family kitchen.

I had wanted to start my own business and work for myself from a very young age and it was at this point in my life I decided to just go for it.

So, Mum taught me the recipe and I began manufacturing from my parents kitchen in Fife, selling it at the local Fife Farmers’ Markets, Farm Shops and Delicatessens. Trotter’s Independent Condiments was born.

For more information visit: www.trottersindependent.co.uk


INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp of ground almonds (extra for dusting)
300g dark chocolate (60% cocoa minimum)
220g caster sugar
110g Trotter’s Hot Pepper Jelly
165g unsalted butter
Pinch of sea salt
5 large eggs
Icing sugar

Equipment Needed:

2 x 20cm cake tin (with removable base)

METHOD:
1 Preheat the oven to 232°C/450F/Gas mark 8 or if you have one, use the top right door of an Aga.
2 Brush the cake tin with a little oil and coat with some of the ground almonds. Shake off excess and put to one side.
3 Melt the chocolate and the butter with the sugar, salt and Trotters Hot Pepper Jelly in a bain-marie. This is simply when you melt your ingredients in an ovenproof bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Keep stirring, and once all the ingredients have melted remove from the simmering water and leave to cool.
4 Whisk the eggs with the remainder of the ground almonds and fold into the chocolate mixture once it has cooled. 
5 Pour into the almond-coated cake tin and bake for 30-45 minutes. Check after 30 minutes. If cooking too fast on the top, cover with tin foil to stop it from burning. 
6 Remove cake from the tin and leave on a wire rack to cool. 
7 This cake will not rise much, it should be rich and thick.
8 Serve warm or cold with a dusting of icing sugar. 

In association with Taste Communications.

www.tastecommunications.co.uk