Connoisseur Michael's Flourless Chocolate Cake

“The only true mistake is not to learn from your mistakes.”  My father oft repeated this quote to me when I was a child, hoping to impart some moral intelligence to his young son.  His consistent chimes did fall on deaf ears.  At the most recent Connoisseurs Challenge I endeavored to bake a flourless chocolate cake.  I have never claimed to be a baker, but as a Connoisseur it is my duty to at least explore this aspect of culinary art.  My cake at the Challenge was decent, but fell far short of the lofty heights to which a Connoisseur’s culinary creation is expected to ascend.  A few things went wrong; first and foremost the recipe itself was flawed, not so much in the way of ingredients, but in method.  I did not employ a double boiler when combining the chocolate with the water and sugar, breaking the chocolate in the process.  The eggs were not whipped enough, making the folding process less than fluffy.  These foibles led to a cake that, while delicious in taste, lacked the creamy wet texture a flourless cake should possess.  I also found that the ganache and pink peppercorn topping, while pleasing on the eye, was drab on the tongue.  Feeling slightly conquered by this sweetie, I gathered my courage and redoubled my attack.

Flourless Chocolate Cake – Take Two

½ C water

1 C sugar

6 oz 99% cocao Scharffen Berger chocolate

6 oz 70% cocao Scharffen Berger chocolate

1 C butter

6 large organic eggs

1/3 C sugar

Dark Chocolate Dulce de Leche topping

Butter to thin

Coarse ground salt for sprinkling

A buttered 9” springform cake pan with a circle of buttered parchment on the bottom

Dissolve the 1 C sugar in boiling water.  Pour into a double boiler and add the chocolate, little by little, until melted and smooth, then add the butter in the same fashion until smooth.  I really prefer Scharffen Berger chocolate; it has great taste and an amazing texture.  Turn the heat on the double boiler to low and let it sit while you whip the eggs and remaining 1/3 C sugar.  I have absolutely no scientific proof of this, but in my experience organic eggs whip to a much fluffier froth than their non-organic counterparts.  Whip the eggs at a high speed for a good 15 minutes or so, they should quadruple in size at the least.  Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.  Pour the entire mixture into the buttered springform pan.  Set the pan in a roasting pan and fill up the roaster to half way up the cake pan with boiling water.  Bake the cake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  If a toothpick, inserted into the middle of the cake, does not come out clean leave the cake in a couple more minutes, but do not overcook.  Let the cake cool to room temperature and the put it in the fridge overnight, or at least for a few hours.

You could use many different toppings on the cake, but I chose a dark chocolate dulce de leche.  I put the topping, which was quite thick and fudge-like, into a double boiler and added butter until I was happy with the consistency.  After spreading the topping on the cake so that it dribbled over the sides I sprinkled the entire thing with coarse grain salt.

Using this method created a cake the consistency of thick, stable, and smooth mousse.  The salt really added to the bittersweet flavor.  This dessert is rich and should be dished out in slivers, unless the diner wishes to dive into chocolate ecstasy.     

- Connoisseur Michael