Phil Vickery's fudgy almond cake

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4). Line a 24cm round, 7cm deep, loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, take the pan off the heat but leave the bowl over the pan to keep the mixture warm.
3. Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl and whisk until thick and foamy, then add half the sugar, and whisk again until creamy and thick.
4. Add the rest of the sugar and whisk until very stiff, but still a creamy consistency. Stir the egg yolks, vanilla extract, almonds and chickpea flour into the warm chocolate and butter, then straight away add half the meringue, mixing well. Finally, add the rest of the meringue and fold in.
5. Spoon into the lined tin and bake for 45-50 mins, or until well risen and firm.
6. Remove from the oven and cool slightly in the tin; it will collapse a little. Make several holes over the surface of the cake with a skewer.
7. Meanwhile, place the sugar, 100ml water and the mint in a small pan and boil until the sugar has dissolved, then strain. Spoon the syrup over the cake and leave to soak in and cool completely.
8. Once the cake has cooled, beat the mascarpone, honeycomb and honey together with a wooden spoon or spatula. Do not whisk or the mascarpone will be too soft and not hold its shape on the cake.
9. Turn out the cake carefully onto a large, flat plate. As there is no gluten in the cake, it will have quite a soft texture, so be careful. Cover the cake with the honey mascarpone.

This recipe is taken from Seriously Good! Gluten-free Cooking by Phil Vickery (Kyle Cathie, £19.99) with photography by Steve Lee, available from Amazon www.vickery.tv