Chocolate Cake

Traditionally this cake would be baked in a bread tin but I think it looks a lot more sumptuous this way.

250 g unsalted butter
250 g sugar
6 eggs
1 lemon, juice of
100 g chopped almonds or crushed flaked almonds
200 g flour
1 sachet/14 g baking powder, mix into flour
pinch of salt
200-250 g chocolate with 70% cocoa
6 tbsp hot water

Icing:
100g chocolate with 70% cocoa
3 tbsp hot water
2 tbsp brandy, rhum or whisky (to taste)

1. Beat butter and sugar untill foamy.
2. Add the eggs and keep beeting until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Add the lemon juice and almonds to the mix.
4. Add the flour/baking powder mix a couple of tablespoons at the time.
5. Heat the water in a heavy saucepan, break up the chocolate and dissolve over a low heat. Add to the cake mix. Add a pinch of salt.
6. Grease a 26 cm spring tin and optionally, sprinkle very lightly with flower. Shake the tin to loosen off any excess flour and tip the excess flour into the sink.
7. Pour the cake mix into the baking tin and bake at gas mark 5 for 50-60 minutes. The cake is done when a metal skewer stuck into the middle comes away clean.
8. Remove the cake from the oven and using a knive carefully loosen it from the rim. Open the spring. Place a cooling rack over the top and using a dish towel or oven gloves, turn the cake upside don. Remove the base of the tin. Place a second cooling rack on the bottom and turn the cake over once more.
9 To make the icing, heat the water in a heavy saucepan, break up the chocolate and dissolve over a low heat until smooth. Add a pinch of salt and stir in the alcohol.
10. Pour over the warm cake spreading it out with a rubber spatula.

Serve with wipped cream.