Flourless Chocolate Cake

Who said a cake has to have flour? Not me! I brought home this recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake last September from a cooking class I attended in Grand Haven at the Artisan Cooking School. For obvious reasons I couldn't wait to take the class (titled "Chocolate"), and I would be glad to pay to go to the very same class again. On the menu for the evening were Chocolate Souffle, Warm Chocolate Volcano Cake, Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Flourless Chocolate Cake, Creme Anglaise, and Chocolate Mousse. See? You're jealous you weren't there, and you should be. The cooking class participants received GENEROUS samples of each recipe featured during the class. I had to get a "to-go" box by the second or third sample. And then I had plenty of dessert for myself and my husband the next day. Wow.

Almost a year later I am finally getting around to making the recipes myself. This is the first recipe that I have tried from that class. It was incredibly easy and sinful to eat. The end product is a very smooth, dense cake. My husband thought it's texture was similar to a brownie. I can see where he's coming from, but the texture is much classier and more refined than a brownie. It's not chewy in any way. A brownie says, "Serve me up at a BBQ next to some fried chicken." This flourless chocolate cake, which is not nearly as sweet as a brownie, says, "Cover me with raspberry coulis (raspberry sauce) and make designs on the plate like you're a big time chef!"

In addition to being decadent, this recipe is super simple. It took maybe 15 minutes of prep time (which included a bit of a search for the cake pan), and then about 25 minutes of cook time. Yay!

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Makes one 8-inch cake.

4 oz. fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray bottom of 8-inch round baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper. Spray paper again.
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Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler (or metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water), melt chocolate with butter, stirring until smooth. Remove bowl of chocolate from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in the middle of oven for 25 minutes or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate.
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Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve. Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container for 1 week.

Some notes:

• I used Ghiradelli bittersweet baking chocolate and Penzey's "dutch process" cocoa.


• If you have a microwave with a "soften/melt" setting, you're in luck. I programmed mine for melting chocolate, stirred a few times and POOF! no need for a double-boiler!


• I thought I was going to have to "temper" the eggs, so I wouldn't end up with a scrambled mess, but I was surprised that the chocolate melted, but still felt cool to the touch. If your chocolate/butter mixture feels more than lukewarm, be careful when adding the eggs, or wait a bit if you don't know the tempering process.


• I only own 9-inch cake pans, so I watched the cake closely and ended up removing it from the oven with about six minutes left on the timer (I had set it at 25 minutes).