If you love chocolate then this recipe is the one for you.
My husband, who used to work in restaurants, would make this for me years ago when we were dating. I found his old book of formulas and remembered how good this simple cake was and decided to go about making it. His formula was for enough to make ten cakes, certainly too many for little old me, but it was easy enough to scale it own for one 9″ round cake.
When you bake this cake you will find it will rise to nearly the top of the pan due to the expansion of the air whipped into the batter, yet as it cools it falls to half its risen height. Don’t worry, it is meant to do that. The richness of the cake comes from that fall. If it falls you have done it right.
Give yourself the better part of the day to make this cake. The making of the cake itself is easy as can be, but it needs time to relax and chill. This is not the kind of cake you make just before you plan to serve it. It needs time to chill in the pan before releasing it, and you will also need to let it chill at least two hours before serving. If you try it while it is still slightly warm, or room temperature for that matter, it will be more of a fluffy mousse. It is also very nice slightly warm, if you are so inclined to try it that way.
Flourless Chocolate Cake Serves 12
Sugar 5.5oz
Water 2.5oz
Chocolate 9 oz
Salted Butter 6 oz
Sugar 3.5 oz
Eggs 4 each
1 teaspoon vanilla
Heat the oven to 350F and grease a 9″ cake pan, line the bottom with parchment then grease the parchment.
Boil the first portion of sugar with the water. Once it boils reduce heat and add the butter and chocolate. Once melted turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
In the bowl of a heavy duty mixer, whip the eggs with the second portion of sugar. Whip until the eggs and sugar reach the ribbon stage.
Fold in the chocolate mixture and pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 minutes. The edge of the cake will be firm and the center will be firm-ish.
Allow to cool to room temp, then refigerate for two hours. After it has chilled run a thin knife around the edge of the pan, then heat the bottom of the pan in a shallow dish of warm water. Invert into a plate. You may need to give the pan a sharp rap to release the cake. Don’t worry, it will release. Remove the parchment and serve.