Flourless Chocolate Cake

Day 17, Recipe 11

I have always heard of this cake and how good it tasted. I have never had a piece, so I was anxious to try this recipe. There is only one word to describe this cake.... decadent. It was so good! It was very rich, but not heavy. It was almost like you baked chocolate pudding. If you like chocolate, you have to make this cake for sure!!

Recipe from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

Ingredients:

½ cup walnuts
½ cup sugar
5 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup unsalted butter
8 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 300 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper cut to fit

2. In a food processor, process together the walnuts and the sugar until powdery.

3. Melt the butter and the chocolates using a double-boiler. (I melted the butter in the microwave, then added the chocolate and continued to heat in the microwave in 15 second increments in order to be careful not to scorch the chocolate.)

4. Using a stand mixer with the whip attachment beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.

5. Whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir one-fourth of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Gently fold in the ground nut mixture. Add the remaining egg whites, folding gently and thoroughly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

6. Bake the cake until it puffs up a little and jiggles only very slightly when the pan is gently shaken, 30-35 minutes. If the center looks soupy, bake for another 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 3 minutes, then release and lift off the sides of the pan. Invert the cake onto a cardboard cake circle very carefully. The cake is very fragile when it is warm. Remove the parchment paper. Place on a wire rack and let cool completely. Cover the cake with a clean, slightly damp kitchen towel so that the outside does not dry out as it cools.

7. Using a fine sieve, dust the top of the cooled cake with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream if desired. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.