Flourless Chocolate Cake recipes

I have a recipe. Care to compare? ;)
I posted it last year, but I think it got lost in the thread...
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The following recipe is best attempted by those that are not only intimately familiar with the baking of cakes in general, but also love to bake. Otherwise, it might be too involved and advanced for the casual baker/cook. Just fair warning in case anyone makes it and ruins it on their first try ;) It's not that bad (or hard) but I had also had years of experience at baking before I tried this one.

(The following opening statement is from my past-wife (not "passed", mind you ;)) thus my changing of "husband" to "wasband" :D)

Everyone loves chocolate! Well, most everyone. This is a flourless chocolate cake that my wasband makes about once a year. I must give you warning. It is a very heavy, rich dessert and is served in very small portions. The measurements are given in metric and standard to appease both sides. It's great to make for parties. Your guests will surely return! Bon Appetit!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

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Pre-heat oven to 350 F (175 C)
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Standard measurements + (Metric measurements:)
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20 oz. (570 g) bittersweet chocolate
1.75 C (420 ml / 350 g) superfine sugar
((Superfine can be made by putting regular sugar in a food processor with a metal blade and pulsing for a couple of minutes until the sugar is of a finer grain than previously))
15 oz. (430 g) butter (unsalted)
15 eggs, whole - separated
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Equipment and pan(s):
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Large mixer with whip and paddle attachments, plus a bowl of 5 qt. (4.5 lt) capacity
Mixing bowl of at least 6 qt (5.5 lt) capacity for final mixing
(I find that my 12 qt (11.5 lt) stockpot works perfectly for the folding of the egg whites into the chocolate batter)
Double boiler - can also use a large stainless bowl sitting over (not in) boiling water
10"x3" (25cm x 7.5cm) springform pan, buttered
(With buttered parchment paper fitted for bottom of pan)
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Directions:
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Melt chocolate in double boiler.
Whip butter and sugar, scraping sides as needed.
Remove whip attachment; use paddle.
Add chocolate to butter/sugar mixture.
Beat together, scraping sides as needed.
Add egg yolks one at a time, beating 20-30 seconds after each addition.
Transfer to separate bowl.
Clean machine bowl (or use second bowl if you have more than one.)
Whip egg whites.
Fold whites into chocolate mixture.
Pour cake mixture into pan, reserving one quarter of batch.
Bake cake at 350 F (175 C) for one hour.
Chill reserved batter.
Cool cake on rack. Cake will fall in middle. This is normal.
Chill cake in pan overnight (12 hours).
Level cake with top of pan; fill with chilled batter/frosting.
Unmold and serve.

NOTE: On these last two steps, I often unmold the cake first, then level the cake so that the leftover pieces can be fitted into the fallen portion in the middle, thus leveling it better. I then use a large flat frosting spatula I keep resting in hot water as I frost the cake with the remaining chilled batter. It also helps to leave the batter out for a few minutes, to help it soften up to a spreading consistency. Final decorations can be made with chocolate shavings pressed into the side of the cake. Pipe some ganache swirls evenly around the perimeter of the cake and you're done!

Unfortunately, it's got raw eggs. I had one bout with salmonella poisoning & never again. :cry:

:hi:

from it. The few times a year that I buy eggs (usually for biscotti Xmas gifts) I will buy organic, free-range, or whatever the equivalent.

If there's a way of making this with an egg-replacer, I'd love to know :)

I think that I read that only one egg per 10000 have salmonella. (Raw chicken is a higher risk since chickens are bathed communally.) Having said that, the one bout I had made me extremelly unlikely to ever eat raw eggs again. Even knowing that it would be in the same range has getting hit by lightening twice: extremely unlikely.

Our market used to sell pasturized raw eggs, but they quit carrying them & I've never found them any where else.

but it is usually best to avoid raw eggs where possible. I suppose you could pare this recipe back by a quarter and then use some other frosting on it, like a thinned ganache. That would probably still work quite well :D

ever find raw, pasteurized eggs again.


And yeah, it was bad. At first I was afraid I was gonna die, then I was afraid I wasn't gonna die. :rofl:

:hi:

:D I know the feeling with regards to various kinds of pain :o

But maybe go ahead and try it with one-fourth of the ingredients and just make some other icing or frosting for it. It does need that little extra bit, though it comes out like a very dense brownie in the middle :9

Let's see what a 1/4th reduction looks like:

15 oz. (428g) bittersweet chocolate
1 C, 3 oz (315 ml / 263g) superfine sugar
11.25 oz. (323g) butter (unsalted)
11 eggs, whole - separated + one egg white

A normal ingredient-ratio for ganache as used for truffles is 1:1, heavy cream to chocolate. Increase the cream by at least half or until you get a very thick spreadable or almost pourable consistency and use that for a covering.

The sugar content could use a little reduction as well, depending on the sweetness of the chocolate used.
One of my gay friends said upon the first bite: "This is better than sex!" :rofl:

I've made ganache many times. It's just an easy, delicious topping. And no frosting skills required.

Husband was working late and I put them on warm in the oven. He brought a buddy home, who ate and then went out drinking. He got so sick he swore off drinking... until we told him it was the turkey legs. They were both sick for a couple of days. My son was sick too, only not quite as bad, I don't know why.

But everybody still eats turkey legs.

I gave myself food poisoning one time by eating a bran muffin I had left in my car before work, thinking the daily August heat of Houston would make for a nice warming oven...

Luckily, I noticed the odd flavor and didn't eat more than a bite, so I only got a mild episode. I still eat bran muffins sometimes. But you can taste food poisoning like that. Salmonella (or e. coli, for that matter) isn't so obvious. It doesn't happen so often anymore, but any chance, however slight, can make some nervous.

but I don't have her recipe. So now I'll search (in Commemoration. She passed on a year ago.) It includes rolling the cake, and serving with hot chocolate sauce.

It occurred to me that this served her love of chocolate, which became more apparent in the nursing home! :)

:)

To me, it's an amazing bit of baking chemistry going on, that you can make a rich and satisfying cake with no flour. I do understand it's the egg whites binding it all together, as I made one chocolate cake years ago that only used meringue for the 'cake' portion. Still, when I do make it, it's well worth the effort and reaction from everyone :D

It's from the Tribeca Restaurant in NYC.

1 lb semisweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
9 eggs, separated
1/2 cup plus 1 tsp sugar
3 tbs cocoa powder
3 tbs confectioners sugar
1/2 pint heavy cream, whipped.

Preheat oven to 300. Butter & flour 9 inch springform pan. Line bottom w/parchment paper then butter & flour lining.

Melt chocolate & butter in a double boiler. Stir. Remove & let cool. In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolks w/ 1/2 cup of sugar to ribbon stage. In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites with 1 tsp sugar & beat to soft peaks.

In a separate bowl, fold together one-third of the chocolate mixture with one-third of the egg-yolk mixture. Then fold in one-third of the egg whites. Repeat until the three mixtures are incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan & bake for 30 minutes. (Do not overbake. The center of the cake should still be soft.) Remove from oven & cool on rack for 3 hours.

Dust top with 1 tbs of cocoa, sifted. Then dust with 1 tbs of confectioners sugar, sifted. Then repeat. Refrigerate overnight in the pan. Before serving let the cake stand at room temp for 1 hour. Dust again with remaining 1 tbs each of cocoa & confectioners sugar & remove cake from pan.

. . . and mine solves the whole egg issue by not having any. It also doesn't have dairly and is vegan, if you sweeten with agave. I give you Magic Chocolate Cake:

* 1-1/2 cups WW pastry flour
* 3/4 cup sugar or other sweetener
* 1/2 tsp. Salt
* 1 tsp. Baking soda
* 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon vinegar
* 1 cup cold water
* 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (optional)

350˚ for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Cream Frosting

* 2 tablespoon softened margarine
* 1-1/3 cups powdered sugar
* 1/3 cup cocoa
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
* 2-4 tablespoons water

Amazingly simple to throw together. This makes a small bundt-sized cake and better cupcakes but I warn you--the peppermint makes it insanely rich. First time I made it, I figured there was no way this would make a proper-sized cake, so I doubled the recipe. . . Best made when you're having company and lots of help eating it. I think it would taste as good (and be less reprehensible) if you substituted carob powder for the chocolate. I bet it would take easily to a gluten-free version if you substituted another flour. IMHO, this is way better than any brownie or cake mix, and is killer with a scoop of vanilla Tofutti straight out of the oven.