Chocolate Torte
Another chocolate concoction! this one takes a while to make (though most of it is downtime). Also, it is super important to fully and completely butter and sugar the sides of the pan!!! The cake rises first and then settles back down, but if the sides aren't buttered and sugared, it'll stick to the pan rather than settle, leaving you with a big air bubble rather than a nice dense moist cake. Yeah, i figured this one out the hard way :) From The Silver Palate Cookbook.
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1 lb (16 oz) best quality bittersweet chocolate (I like valrhona or ghirardelli)
14 tbsp (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 10 eggs, separated, room temperature* 1/4 cup framboise or liqueur of choice 2 tsp vanilla extract |
Break chocolate into small pieces. Melt with the butter over a double boiler.** Stir in 1 cup of sugar and heat until dissolves, roughly 3 minutes.
Beat the egg yolks until blended. Beat in one cup of the chocolate mixture to lighten, then add that back to the double boiler. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in framboise and vanilla. Preheat oven to 275°. Butter and lightly sugar a 9" springform pan. Beat egg whites until just beginning to stiffen. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until peaks are stiff and glossy. Gently fold chocolate mixture into egg whites. Pour into pan. Bake until cake is firm, about 3 hours. Let cool completely, the refrigerate until cold. This cake goes extremely well with either a fruit puree or with a creme anglaise. It's well worth the time for a crowd pleaser. And because the chocolate is the star of the show, it's worth splurging on the good stuff - bad quality chocolate will really show in this cake. |
This cake is rich and sinfully delicious. I like to lighten it up with some unsweetened whipped cream, a creme anglaise or a fruit coulis.
* Note on separating eggs: rap the shells gently on the lip of a bowl along their midline, then gently open up the egg such that yolk stays in one half of the shell. Then carefully pour the yolk back and forth from shell half to shell half, allowing the whites to accumulate in the bowl. Don't get any yolk in the whites! even a small amount of the fat in the yolks can interfere with the formation of long protein chains when you're whipping the egg whites. (Thank you Harold McGee!)
** don't go out and buy an expensive setup! these are easy to improvise. Just get a metal bowl that fits snugly on top of a nice large pot, et voila! The boiling water maintains a even low heat that will help keep the chocolate from scorching. Oh, that and the artery-clogging amount of butter ;)
* Note on separating eggs: rap the shells gently on the lip of a bowl along their midline, then gently open up the egg such that yolk stays in one half of the shell. Then carefully pour the yolk back and forth from shell half to shell half, allowing the whites to accumulate in the bowl. Don't get any yolk in the whites! even a small amount of the fat in the yolks can interfere with the formation of long protein chains when you're whipping the egg whites. (Thank you Harold McGee!)
** don't go out and buy an expensive setup! these are easy to improvise. Just get a metal bowl that fits snugly on top of a nice large pot, et voila! The boiling water maintains a even low heat that will help keep the chocolate from scorching. Oh, that and the artery-clogging amount of butter ;)