Flourless Chocolate Cake

Damnnnnn things have been so so busy! We have been crazy busy over at the studio - a couple of huge projects coming up coupled with general christmas rush means that we have been pulling some intense hours. All we have to do is make it through until Christmas, then January is always nice and quiet so we can have a little break, then in February we are going to New Zealand!

We have been having some fairly epic 3pm slumps in the studio, so I have made sure that there is always some sort of treat around for everyone to have a nibble on when they have a wee break from cloud land. This cake is the perfect cure for the 3pm slump - it is a straight hit of dark chocolate, mellowed out by a little butter, and held up by whipped eggs. I halved the original recipe to give a smaller, higher cake, which I think works well in comparison to the majority of flourless chocolate cakes which are fairly flat. The simplicity of this is what makes it amazing - it is literally just chocolate, butter, eggs and sugar, which really allows the ingredients to shine. 

The final product of this depends entirely on your chocolate quality. I use a Callebaut 70% chocolate which is Belgian - I would recommend something that has at least 70% cocoa solids. The cake has a solid half a pound of chocolate in it, and it really stands out, so you need to make sure you use something which tastes good alone as well as in baking. 

If you do choose to double this, pop it in an 8 inch pan - it should end up a similar height! I halved the original recipe because I feel as if there are far too many massive cake recipes out there - this would be perfect for having a few people over for dinner, or taking around to a friends house, or just having for a 3pm studio slump pick-me-up! It serves about 6.

I have adapted this recipe from Mast Brothers cook book - weird controversy aside, their book has some bomb recipes in it for all sorts of chocolate situations, both sweet and savoury! I love it. They have a beautiful space in Williamsburg where they make (I went and watched them grinding the beans) their chocolate from scratch.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

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• Author: Erin Clarkson
• Yield: Makes one 6 inch cake (serves 6) 1x

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Description

Flourless Chocolate Cake

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 225g (half a pound) good quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 55g (½ a stick, or a ¼ cup) unsalted butter
• 4 eggs, separated.
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon (55g plus 15g) sugar
• Powdered sugar, for dusting
• 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream, softly whipped, for serving

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Butter a 6 inch cake tin. Separate eggs, placing the yolks in a medium bowl, and the whites either in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in another medium bowl.
2. Set up a double boiler - place a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, ensuring that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Melt the chocolate and butter in the double boiler, stirring until melted and shiny. Remove from the heat.
3. Place the yolks and ¼ cup of the sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk well by hand until fluffy. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the yolks, and whisk well to incorporate. 
4. Whip the egg whites until foamy. Add remaining sugar, and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate and yolk mixture, taking care not to deflate the mixture too much. Fold until well combined. 
5. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set around the edges and still slightly soft in the middle. 
6. Cool for 20 minutes in the tin then carefully turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely. 
7. Dust with icing sugar and serve with soft whipped cream.

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Notes

Adapted from Mast Brothers