Fallen Pound of Chocolate Soufflé Cake

(Flour-free)

From David Waltuck’s “Staff Meals from Chanterelle”

Adapted and updated by Blue Heron Kitchen

This cake is almost completely flour-free, save for dusting the pan with flour, so depending on what chocolate you're using, you can make it gluten-free. For dusting the pan, you can use gluten-free flour mix, some brown rice flour, or no flour at all. Try coating the pan with some granulated sugar as if you were making a sweet soufflé. 

This cake is about the easiest and most 'unassuming' flourless chocolate cakes I’ve made. You don't need a bain-marie (water bath) and it's minimalist in ingredients. I like that. It approaches perfection. There's no flavoring other than chocolate and butter. So, make sure you use excellent chocolate (try JacquesTorres’ baking disks - if you click on the link, you can find his stores, or order online).  Today, I combined JT's baking disks and Valrhona, semi-sweet chocolate. Whatever fine chocolate you choose, you'll need a full pound! And then, there’s the butter choice. 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. If there's a speck of yolk in the white, you'll be miserable. Your whites won't whip up. Take it one egg at a time. So, bring more than nine eggs to room temperature and if some of them don't separate perfectly, make some eggs or a frittata for dinner.

For an excellent cake, use excellent ingredients and an excellent technique. How you make this is important. Be careful and patient; and if it's not perfect this time, it will be better next time. 

Trucs: 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. Using Guittard "red" cocoa for dusting will achieve the finish in the above photo. I didn't add a second dusting of confectioner's sugar.

Follow these simple steps, and you’ll be a rock star, despite that all you did was melt chocolate and butter and whip up some eggs.

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 (Valrhona or Guittard are good choices), 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, about 20-30 minutes. The center will appear to be unbaked.  This is important: do not over-bake the cake or you will undo your folding and your cake will be dry and unremarkable (don't be afraid, be careful and concentrate. You're the boss.)

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 is all you need. You can serve ‘as is’, with a dollop of whipped cream, with some crème anglaise, or with a berry or two.

Serves 10-15 (or more)