Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate
I found this recipe from Epicurious and have made it a few times and each time its garnered rave reviews. This time it was for a charity fundraiser my roommate was involved with. This is a decadently rich flourless cake, only for serious chocolate lovers, and best served with fruit and whipped cream to balance the flavors. It requires the springform pan to be submerged in a waterbath, so wrapping it tightly and securely in aluminum foil is critical to prevent water seepage into the batter while it’s baking. Use extra-large aluminum foil and wrap the pan in at least 3 layers. With this cake, I had water seep into two of the aluminum foil layers, but luckily not the last.
La Bete Noire (adapted from Epicurious)
Ingredients
Cake
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
14 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped finely
5 large eggs (brought to room temperature)
Ganache
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
61/2 ounces bittersweet, chopped finely
Serve with whipped cream and Strawberry or Raspberry Puree
Preparation
For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Start boiling a pot of water for a waterbath. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment round and butter the parchment. Wrap 3 layers of extra large heavy-duty foil tightly around outside of pan, bringing foil to top of rim.
Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk sugar syrup into chocolate; let it cool slightly (or else eggs will curdle when you add it to the mixture).
Add eggs to chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Place cake pan in a large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan.
Bake cake for 40 minutes until center no longer moves when pan is gently shaken. Remove from water bath. Cool completely in pan for two hours.
For ganache:
Over medium heat, bring heavy cream to simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cooled cake still in the pan. Gently shake the pan to distribute evenly over the top of the cake. Leave the cake at room temperature for the next hour or two. Refrigerate the cake in the pan until ganache is set, about 2 hours. Cover and keep refrigerated.
Take out ½ hour to an hour before serving, Cut between the cake and pan with a knife before releasing the sides of the cake from the pan. To release the bottom of the cake from the pan, take a hot clean knife and cut carefully to release the edges of the pan. When you see that the parchment can be lifted without damage to the cake, flip the top of the cake onto one plate, remove the parchment, then flip it back onto the other plate. Slice the cake into 16 or 32 slices with hot, clean knife for each slice.