Almond Sponge

• Preheat your oven to 180C / 355F (fan off), 160C / 320F (fan on). Brush a half sheet baking tray with melted butter and line with baking paper. A half sheet baking tray measures 43cm x 27cm / 17 x 11-inch and is 1-inch / 2.5cm in height.
• Combine dry ingredients - Add the almond meal, powdered sugar and all-purpose flour to a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• Whisk eggs and sugar - Add the eggs and sugar to a large mixing bowl and use an electric hand beater or stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until frothy, about 3 minutes.
• Finish batter - Use a spatula to gently fold in half the dry ingredients. Drizzle in the melted and cooled butter and the remaining dry ingredients and fold, taking care to scrape from the bottom. Once there are no dry ingredients showing, stop mixing. The batter should be fluffy and thick.
• Bake - Pour the batter into the cake tin and use a spatula to carefully spread around in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Take out of the oven and let it cool completely in the tin.

Coffee Syrup

• Add all the ingredients into a small saucepan and stir. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely.

Chocolate Glaze

Chocolate Sauce (Microwave Method)

• Add the dark chocolate, butter, brown sugar, glucose syrup and heavy cream to a large, microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, for 20 seconds at a time, mixing well between each interval until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes, before pouring on top of some desserts. Goes nicely on top of ice-cream when it's warm.

Chocolate Sauce (Double Boiler Method)

• To make the chocolate sauce over a double boiler, simply add the dark chocolate, butter, brown sugar and heavy cream to a large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl on top of a pot of gently simmering water making the sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Stir until melted. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely.
• To thin the sauce - To thin out your sauce for things like drizzling on cupcake and cakes, simply microwave for 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each interval until it’s smooth and pourable.
• Cooling the glaze - Once the glaze is made, allow to cool completely at room temperature to a soft spreading consistency. Set aside about 1/4 cup of chocolate glaze if you want to pipe squiggles on your cake.

French Coffee Buttercream

• Prepare coffee - Add the espresso powder and 1 tbsp boiling water to a small bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside to cool.
• Whip eggs yolks - Add the egg yolks to a large mixing bowl and beat on high-speed using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment. After about 6 minutes they will be thick and pale.
• Make syrup - Add the water and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add syrup to egg yolks - While the mixer is on high speed, pour the syrup into the eggs in a slow and steady stream. Allow to continue beating for 2-3 minutes until the mixture becomes thicker.
• Add butter - Add the softened butter 1 tbsp at a time while the mixer is still on high speed. It will begin looking curdled, but will all come together to be a smooth frosting. Turn down to low speed and add the coffee mixture and continue mixing until well combined.

To Assemble

• To trim the cake - Cut a 4-inch-long strip down one side of the cake from top to bottom. You’ll have one thin rectangle and one wider. Then cut both in half. Use a ruler to measure your strips before slicing.
• To begin layering the cake - Place your first layer of cake on top of a large chopping board. Brush with cooled coffee syrup. Add 1/2 of the buttercream and use an offset spatula to spread as evenly as you can.
• Add the second layer of sponge on top and brush with coffee syrup. Add 1/3 of the chocolate glaze and spread evenly.
• Add the third layer of sponge (it will be in two pieces) and brush with remaining coffee syrup. Add the second half of the buttercream and spread evenly. Allow to chill in the fridge for 10 minutes before adding another 1/3 of the chocolate glaze. Spread evenly and allow to chill completely for at least two hours or overnight. I have an illustration in the blog post to make this easier to understand for visual people like me.
• Pipe details on top - Soften the remaining chocolate glaze in the microwave to a soft spreading consistency and add to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe wavy lines on top of the chilled dessert.
• Chill - chill the dessert! It’s really important to do this before slicing. Chill for a good 2 hours in the fridge.
• To slice up - Dip a large sharp knife in boiling water and dry thoroughly. Slice the edges of the cake away so that you’re left with one large, neat looking cake. Then dip the knife in boiling water, dry and slice the cake in half. You want to heat the knife up with each slice and clean it before making the next slice. Slice each half into 4 bars. You’ll have 8 neat looking bars all up.