Italian Chocolate Christmas Cake

6 oz unsalted butter 6 oz sugar 325 gr dark chocolate, broken into bits 50 gr walnuts, shelled, halved, toasted & rough chopped (with a good mix of large & small) 50 gr blanched almonds, toasted & rough chopped 75 gr shelled hazelnuts 5 large eggs, separated 150 gr chestnuts, cooked & broken into bits 1 orange rind, grated 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 50 gr ground almonds powdered (icing) sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt butter & sugar in a bowl set over simmering water. Add in chocolate, stirring well. Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture, then mix in the all the nuts, orange rind & cinnamon. Whisk yolks until stiff, but not dry. FOLD in egg whites to the chocolate mixture. (You don’t want to knock the air out by mixing too hard.) Pour into a buttered 8in spring form cake pan. Bake for 45 minutes Leave the cake in the pan to cool for about 20 minutes. It is a fragile cake, so handle with care. The top will deflate & crack a little as it cools. Dust with powdered (icing) sugar.