This glorious cake was presented to me at a tango party on my36th birthday. There is something about tango and chocolate......they are just divine together, and this combination - chocolate and almonds - partcularly so, especially as the entire cake contains only one spoon of flour. It is all chocolate, butter, sugar and other goodies - dense, rich and very seductive.
Unbeatable glory of a dark, mysterious chocolate torte - made with only one spoon of flour. It's all chocolate, butter and eggs, making it super rich. Layer with fruit and top with candied flowers for a special flourish.
In the 1990s the tango was not well-known in London. The first wave of dancers to learn it in London numbered around 40. I joined in the second wave - when there were about 80 of us - a small enough group to know everyone by name.
By now there are thousands of dancers everywhere and scores of dance venues, but in those days there was a pleasing level of intimacy and glamour to it as everyone joined for the same reason - we had fallen in love with the notion of wearing beautiful clothes and dancing with a lovely partner to the music which is arguably the most romantic ever composed.
To dance the tango superlatively, you must fall in love with your partner for the duration of the song, but when the song finishes, the romance is over. That is the addiction of tango - and how it breaks your heart.
This particular party took place at Fallen Archies, one of only six or seven venues where we could dance the tango, located under the arch of a railway bridge in the enrivons of Victoria Station. A gym by day, it was transformed into an astonishingly glamorous speakeasy by night.
Reception became the bar, the lounging cubes and tables became the bistro seating, on which we would loll in our decadent evening attire, watching the dancers on the sprung wooden floor beyond as they twisted, turned and swivelled beneath a suite of multi-coloured stage lamp suspended on a large lighting rig above.
Comprised of two large, adjoining rooms, it was all red brick arches, with disco lights illuminating the gleaming floors. and the richly mirrored walls all around doubling the numbers of dancers, making the modest group seem bigger and magnifying the elegance of us all.
With classes held for the first two hours from 7 to 9pm and the milonga starting after that, we waited for the advanced dancers to arrive at 10pm and the chance to watch or dance with them.
In my very first class - for beginners - I was taken out and placed into the Intermediate class, followed swiftly hy a move into the advanced group, who would still be there after midnight. Within a short time I deserted Swing Dancing at the 100 Club in Oxford Street and transitioned to dancing exclusively the tango. I did that for 23 hours every week for 12 years, and in fact ended up commissioned to create choreography for the Russian Jewish festival, among other things.
On this particular occasion, I was one of the late arrivals and found myself at the centre of a planned party. As the cake and coffee was brought out, and snaffled up, and the dancing wound down for the night, I began dancing with an ex-army military intelligence officer who had been based in India. With a crooked leg he made for an interesting partner, to say the least, but his leg did not hold him back from steering me around the floor at length and really well.
Do ensconsed were we in the dance, that we later realised we had been oblivious to dwindling numbers as more and more tangueros had left to go home. In the end, around midnight, we found that there just the four of us - my teachers Paul and Michiko, and James and I. Paul was a Russian dancer and Michiko was a ballerina turned tanguera. Huddled around a candle and some wine, we all admitted we did not wish to leave and as Paul and Michiko had the keys to the venue and could effectively lock up any time, we decided to stay. And so we did, gloriously, for another four hours.
We continued dancing to waltzes, candengues and milongas, swapping partners regularly, until finally, just as the dawn chorus chimed and the first London tubes started running, we gave each other fond embraces, and emerged into the road, to see the hues of dawn behind the houses and hear the squeaking brakes of the taxi drivers as they stopped at the lights near the top of the road. Exhausted, elated and tired enough to sleep for a century. I took several night buses home, arriving after 5am, and sneaking into our bedroom so as not to wake my husband, alas unsuccessfully. The giant mound of bedclothes moved as he turned around to welcome me with messy hair and a drowsy kiss. "You tart' he said, grinning, and dragging me under the covers, where we would sleep until midday, when hunger would drive us to a local restaurant for eggs benedict, and piping hot coffee,
I would not trade those memories for a fortune.
A little tango interlude
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyhfi2KtSHI - my teachers - the Zotto brothers - dancing together. I learned from them and other visiting teachers for two years in London before visiting Buenos Aires to take tuition from their teachers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyhfi2KtSHI - the Zotto brothers dancing with their mother. Her parents were the generation which brought this dance form to Buenos Aires in the first place so what you are seeing here is a most authentic form of tango. It is this closeness of the Zotto brothers lineage to the original creators of the tango which made me go to them to learn. The shorter the lineage, the more authentic the form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R603xkSIQkQ - my favourite teacher, Miguel Zotto, go to 0:20 to 0:57 for a snippet. See below. He was understated and very light on his feet.
Tangueiros famosos dos anos 80 ( Miguel Angel Zotto e Milena Plebs) - another excerpt. Miguel has the most beautiful tango face on the planet, reminiscnet of Buster Keaton. Here he is in his prime and dancing with Milena, the woman who drove him crazy. He wanted to marry her, but she refused and announced her retirement from the tango. This sent him over the edge and straight into a self-imposed exile and therapy for many years. This is why, when I went to Buenos Aires myself to learn from the masters, including the Zotto brothers, I was upset to hear they were not teaching at that time. I had already had two years of study, including some masterclasses with them, so after regrouping, instead of going to their students to learn, I asked their teachers to work with me and was accepted.
Miguel & Milena, a match made in heaven.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKDQfNKKsiw - Guastvo Naveira and GIselle 1992. I learned from Gustavo in Buenos Aires. This was filmed not long after he had met her in Europe and was training her to be his full-time partner. There are by now several hundred dancers in the community. Look out for the complicated step sequence from 2:00 to 2:10. Stunning. Also at 3:00 she leads the move around him - something only a very wel trained dancer can do because in this move, if she is not perfectly in balance, he can fall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wUHoc0RrdI - another gem. Although the song is called Tango Negra, it actually shows a dance called the milonga, a fast danceform, which requires flow to work. Here it is danced by a consummate professional - Danny - all understated elegance. As with all authentic tango, it is entirely improvised (nothing here is choreographed) - and this is why people cheer. Check out the sequence from 2:00 to 2:36. It is incredible. The audience can see how challenging the moves are and it is wonderful when someone gets them right, especially the woman because she does it backwards and in heels. This example encapsulates the real amusing spirit of the dance form. I watch this segment regularly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McOcSK65_Lo - this is tango at its most authentic - the Candengue, danced hy the parents of those who are teaching it today, and who are. in some cases, the children of those who brought the tango over from Europe to Buenos Aires in the 1920. ...Notice how the 'hold' position and physical bearing is quite different from the formal tango. This was originally a country dance enjoyed by farmers, and then evolved into what we now know as tango, but the Candengue is still danced today just as it was then - it has retained its fan base for it wit, charm and warmth.
It has a mexican/peruvian influence, but BA was a melting pot of cultures so this does not surprise. When I was in Buenos Aires, I danced only with men of this age because they knew what they were doing. I love this dance form - as the French would say, it is très 'mignon'!
Here you will find another version, dancing two more of my teachers. Look at how quirky
and fun the dance it - the smile never leaves their faces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhQOp9is5ik.
Return to the Tango Soirée
On this particular evening to my utter astonishment someone had remembered my birthday and they bought me this cake with bottles of wine and brandy - nothing but the best for this merry crowd!
Wearing our tassle skirts and lace bodies we huddled elegantly around the coffee tables overlooking the dancefloor, and becoming increasingly inebriate - which did not help our dancing any. It was quite the richest and most gorgeous chocolate cake I'd ever eaten and has since become a firm favourite in our house.
It was in subsequent years only equalled by a cake made by a British caterer for an anniversary party, held in a collection of 4 French gites which we rented for 16 people to celebrate the occasion. I had made my German champagne punch recipe for the party and insisted the caterer should try it. She immediately suggested a swap of her torte for my champagne punch recipe - and so the deal was done.
I amended the original recipe by reducing the amount of flour in it to just one spoon, and by ramping up the other, richer ingredients of egg, butter, sugar and chocolate. With so little flour in it, it does not matter whether you use gluten or non-gluten, it will never negatively impact the flavour or texture in any. In fact, during the years when I had ME and had to forsake gluten, I served this gluten-free all the time and even picky eaters did not notice. Everyone has always loved it. Add a Disaronno or Creme Alla Mandorla from Italy, and the pearly gates will open up before you. So here it is, in all its glory:
Ingredients
2 large bars 70% chocolate
250gr butter
chilli flakes (optional)
4 eggs
150gr caster sugar
1 tsp almond essence
4 tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp plain flour (gluten-free)
Method
1-Melt the above ingredients in water boiler and leave to cool down for 1-2 mins.
2-Add 4 eggs one at a time and whisk.
3-Add the sugar, almonds and plain flour and stir.
4-Put in the oven at 180° for 20-30mins or until done. It should come out moist
To line the cake tin:
soft butter
2 tbsp ground rice or gluten-free flour
For the icing:
12 oz plain chocolate
1 oz butter or margerine
1 tablespoon water
Notes
1-Just before the end of the baking time, test the centre of the cake with a skewer and if the centre is still slightly soft, simply return it to the oven, cover with the foil again, but turn the heat off and leave it to stand in the oven for a few more minutes. Do not open the oven door during this time. This will ensure that the cake is cooked, but retains a moist texture.
2-Add chopped ginger to make a chilli chocolate ginger cake.
3-Push a skewer into the cake and pour tequila over it, but be careful if you have already used chilli in the cake! You could overpower it with too much chilli.
4-Make a Chai icing: blend together 1 cup of sifted icing sugar, with three tablespoons of strong Chai tea powder, crushed pink peppercorns, chilli powder, and a teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. This dry chai spice mix will keep for a month in a glass jar, if you can keep your hands off it that long - and as long as it does not contain milk powder, which manifests pathogens extremely fast. Sprinkle liberally on toast, fruit, cupcakes and even meringues. An extra strong version of this folded into whipped cream along with chopped orange rind makes a stately ice cream.
*****bon appetit*****
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