Fallen Pound of Chocolate Soufflé Cake
(Flourless)
From David Waltuck’s “Staff Meals from
Chanterelle”
Adapted by Blue Heron Kitchen
This cake is almost
completely flour-free, save for dusting the pan with
flour. If you don’t use wheat, choose an
alternative to flour, such as matzo cake meal (next Passover), or some rice flour (if you’re
Sephardic or you're allergic to wheat).
I used flour.
This cake is about
the easiest and most 'unassuming' flourless chocolate cake I’ve made. I like that. It approaches perfection. There's no flavoring
other than chocolate and butter. So, make sure you use excellent chocolate (try Jacques
Torres’ baking disks, Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, Guittard, or your favorite
chocolate). You'll need a pound of chocolate! And then, there’s the butter
situation. You'll be using half a pound of butter. I use European style butter –
Plugra. Whatever butter you use, be sure that it’s fresh. Taste it. If you wouldn't spread it on toast,
don’t use it. Nine eggs. Size large, room temperature, separated. Make sure
that your whites are without yolks.
For an excellent
cake, use excellent ingredients and an excellent technique.
Your excellent technique: Make
sure that no steam enters your melting chocolate. Take care that the melted chocolate and butter cools to room temperature. Achieve
‘ribbons’ with the yolks. Don’t beat the whites past ‘soft peak’ or
they’ll dry out too much. Fold, but don’t ‘mix’ to assure that the
batter is ‘lifted’. Bake in the center
of the oven. DON’T OVERBAKE.
Follow these simple
steps, and you’ll be a rock star, even though all you did was melt chocolate and butter and beat some eggs.
Here’s the recipe for
one 9-inch cake:
Ingredients:
1 pound best quality semi-sweet to dark chocolate
½ pound (two sticks), unsalted butter (European 83%
butterfat recommended)
9 large eggs, room temperature, separated
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Cocoa powder (I use Scharffen Berger, Valrhona or Guittard),
for dusting the cake
Confectioners’ "10X" sugar, for dusting the cake
Procedure:
1.
Preheat oven to 300º F. Lightly butter and flour
(see above note regarding flour, if this is Passover, you can use matzo cake meal) a 9-inch springform pan, then
line the bottom with parchment paper.
2.
Combine chocolate and butter in a bowl placed on
top of a pot of barely simmering water. Melt, stirring occasionally. Be CAREFUL
that NO STEAM enters the chocolate/butter mixture. When just about completely melted,
remove bowl from the simmering pot and stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to room temperature. Don't rush. Bring it to room temperature.
3.
Combine egg yolks and ¾ cup of the sugar in the
bowl of and electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix for about
4-5 minutes, until when the paddle is lifted, ribbons fall from the paddle.
4.
In another bowl (or, if you don’t have another
bowl, transfer this mixture to a LARGE bowl and THOROUGHLY wash this bowl and
attach the whisk to the electric mixer), whisk the egg whites with the 1
additional tablespoon of sugar until soft peaks are made when you lift the
whites with the whisk. This should take about 3 or 4 minutes.
5.
Now you’re ready to fold!
6.
Fold 1/3 of the cooled chocolate mixture into
the egg yolks. When fully incorporated, fold 1/3 of beaten egg whites, until
fully incorporated. Repeat this procedure twice more, until you’ve completely
folding all ingredients together, ending with the egg whites.
7.
Carefully pour the batter into the prepared
springform pan. Don’t ‘pat it down’ much. Bake until the edges are firm and
center is somewhat ‘puffy’, but still soft. The center will appear to be
unbaked.
8.
Cool on a rack, then release the springform.
9.
Dust with a layer of cocoa powder, followed by a
layer of 10X (that’s industry talk for confectioner’s sugar), a second layer of
cocoa and a final layer of 10X.
1. Serve at room temperature. A thin slice will suffice (especially if there are 40 people at the table). You can serve ‘as is’, with a dollop of
whipped cream, with some crème anglaise, or with a berry or two.
