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Flourless Chocolate Cake

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secretturchinman

Mar 15, 2007, 09:43 pm

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Makes one 10-inch cake

8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

5 eggs, separated

Pinch of salt

2/3 cup sugar

Powdered sugar, for garnish

Unsweetened whipped cream, for garnish

Fresh raspberries, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch round cake pan.

Bring about 1 inch of water to boil in the bottom half of a double boiler or in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Put the chocolate and butter in the top half of the double boiler or in a heatproof mixing bowl large enough to rest on the rim of the saucepan without the bowl's bottom touching the water. Place the pan or bowl over the simmering water and melt the chocolate and butter, stirring them until blended.

Meanwhile, in another mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, pinch of salt and all but 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Stirring continuously, pour the melted chocolate-butter mixture into the egg yolks until thoroughly combined.

In a third, clean bowl, put the egg whites. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks that droop slightly when the beaters are lifted out. Still beating at medium speed, gradually sprinkle in the remaining sugar, continuing to beat the egg whites until they form stiff but not yet dry peaks.

With a rubber spatula, fold a generous dollop of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, just until a few streaks of white remain. Add the chocolate mixture to the remaining egg whites and gently fold together until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately invert a cardboard cake round and a wire cake rack on top of it; then, protecting both hands with pot holders or oven mitts and clasping the rack and pan together, invert them to unmold the cake onto the cardboard and rack. Leave the cake to cool to room temperature. Don't worry that its center sinks and cracks slightly. Refrigerate until serving time.

Before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar by spooning some sugar into a fine-meshed sieve held over the cake, then gently tapping the sieve. Cut the cake into wedges and serve with whipped cream and raspberries.