Flourless Chocolate Cake with Hot Buttered Rum Sauce

As if I don't already have enough Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipes, my friend Laura-Kate Rurka, mystery writer and fantastic baker, made yet another cake from a different recipe for the Literary Salon the other night for authors Hilary Davidson and Brad Parks. The cake is gluten free, so it was just perfect. Hilary has Celiac Disease and hosts the blog: Gluten-Free Guidebook (on the road with travel journalist Hilary Davidson). Brad Parks, as far as I know doesn't care about gluten, but he did sing for his supper--or in this case, his cake! What a great voice. Be sure and check out both of these mystery authors.

This recipe is also perfectly timed for Passover which starts this Friday night, so if you're celebrating Passover--or just want another Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe, this one is terrific--and easy! What is the 'crowning' touch on this recipe, though, is the sauce... a warm rum sauce that sinks into the rich dark cake, giving it a unique moistness and taste. The recipe for the cake is adapted from Tyler Florence of the Food Network. It's his Cracked Chocolate Earth Flourless Chocolate Cake. The Rum Butter Sauce is from the Jr. League Centennial Cookbook that accompanies a 'floured' Cake. Works well with the Flourless one. All I can say is YUM!

Cracked Chocolate Earth Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 stick sweet butter
9 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
2 cups heavy cream, cold 
 
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1 inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs - this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate; then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan (spray the bottom with nonstick spray) and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack, and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 30 to 35 minutes (and then check every five minutes after that--don't overbake). Let stand 10 minutes, then unmold.

Hot Buttered Rum Sauce

1 Cup Heavy Cream
3/4 cup Packed light brown sugar
8 Tbsp (1 stick) sweet butter
3 Tbsp dark rum
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine cream, brown sugar and butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until mixture boils. Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and rum. Spoon warm sauce on plate and top with a wedge of cake or drizzle or pour sauce on top of a wedge of cake.

Chocolate Flourless Cake for Passover

Last year, I was browsing one of my favorite sites, Months of Edible Celebrations, when I noticed a chocolate cake on the sidebar links. Well, you know me and chocolate. A bit more exploration on the fabulous YouLittleTarte site brought me to an amazing Flourless Chocolate Cake (A Cake to Die For) that was perfect for Passover. It's even richer and higher (more eggs) than mine! I asked Nadine Rosenthal of YouLittleTarte if she'd care to share, and of course she did, so I'm reposting this amazing recipe again in time for this year's holiday. Be sure and visit the rest of the wonderful recipes and stories at YouLittleTarte! Reposting with permission from Nadine.. why mess with perfection!

I made this dense delicious flourless chocolate cake for last year's Seder. People were so full by the end of the Seder meal, that very few actually ate any that evening. The host insisted that I take half home with me. All I can say is I gained about 5 pounds that week, as I nibbled away. You will absolutely love this cake -- Passover, Easter, or any time!

NADINE ROSENTHAL:
 
I am a self taught cook and baker. With the exception of a couple of classes many years ago, everything I have learned to do in a kitchen has come by trial and error. And believe me, there's been a lot of error. But, as with anything, practice makes perfect, and while I'm not perfect I can read a recipe. Being able to read a recipe and follow directions is a key component in being able to cook.
 
Do you know how some people think they are destined to write the "great American novel"? Well, on You Little Tarte, I'll give you a great couple of paragraphs. Every recipe has a story, and I'll tell you mine.
 
A CAKE TO DIE FOR

I have to start by saying that I look at Passover, which begins at sundown on April 6th, as a low-carb holiday. I'm not a matzo eater so I just do without the bread and pasta. It's a meat and veggie time for me. The only exception I make to the Adkins/South Beach approach to Passover is for macaroons, which I love year round, and this really decadent chocolate cake.

This cake has a good story. Back when I first got married and had absolutely no culinary skills, I decided to take a cooking class. Never mind learning how to roast a chicken, I took a baking class taught by Donald Wressell. Donald, who was then the pastry chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, was just at the beginning of his career and is now a HUGE deal in the pastry world. He's won zillions of awards. Nothing like over reaching one's skill level. There were all these professional pastry chefs in the class and me. Needless to say, I was outclassed in every culinary way possible.

I recognized my situation very quickly, when on the first day of class everyone went around and gave a brief bio of themselves. "Hi, I'm Joe Pastry Chef and I work at (name your fancy restaurant or hotel)." I was in real trouble. When it was my turn, I did what any self respecting Santa Monica newlywed would do. I went to the bathroom, thus avoiding the "Hi, I'm Nadine and I have no idea what I'm doing here" speech.

The good news in all this was that it was a demonstration class so I never actually had to do anything besides watch and learn. And I did. I came out of that class armed with a bunch of fancy schmancy recipes that I have only mastered in more recent years. Hey, you live and learn.

One of the recipes Donald demonstrated was this one for flourless chocolate cake. It takes flourless chocolate cake to a whole new level. Do not be put off by the 18 egg yolks. Yes, you heard me right. There are 18 egg yolks in this cake. The cake is amazing and really spruces up the dessert offerings at a sedar. I'm not saying the Passover brownies aren't tasty but this cake is better. Really. It's worth the calories and the cholesterol. Have a small piece and you'll avoid the emergency room and an angioplasty.

And, if you're not a Passover person, make the cake anyway. It's not actually a Passover cake. I just adopted it as such because it's sans flour. I'm probably breaking some other kosher rules with it anyway.

Recipe: Flourless Chocolate Cake (Donald Wressell)
Note: You can use the whites of the eggs for your macaroons.

Ingredients:
1 pound 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
12 ounces unsalted butter
18 egg yolks
4 ounces granulated sugar
3 ounces cocoa powder

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 10 inch round baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the chocolate with the butter. Let cool slightly.
In a stand mixer, whip the egg yolks with the sugar until very light, about 5 minutes. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg sugar mixture. Sift in the cocoa powder. On medium speed, beat the mixture just to combine. Mixture will appear fudgy and heavy.
Transfer to prepared pan and bake in a water bath for 25 minutes.
Sift more cocoa powder or confectioner's sugar on top of cake to serve, if desired.

Passover: YouLittleTarte's Chocolate Flourless Cake

Oh, the vagaries and surprises of the Internet. I was browsing one of my favorite sites, Months of Edible Celebrations, when I noticed a chocolate cake on one of the sidebar links. Well, you know me and chocolate. A bit more exploration on the fabulous YouLittleTarte site brought me to an amazing Flourless Chocolate Cake for Passover that is even richer...and higher (more eggs) than mine! Well, I think this is the one I'll be making to take to the Seder. I asked Nadine Rosenthal at YouLittleTarte if she'd care to share. And, the rest is history. Do comment, and do visit the rest of the wonderful recipes and stories at YouLittleTarte!

NADINE ROSENTHAL
I am so excited to be here to write a guest post for Dying for Chocolate.
   I am a self taught cook and baker. With the exception of a couple of classes many years ago, everything I have learned to do in a kitchen has come by trial and error. And believe me, there's been a lot of error. But, as with anything, practice makes perfect, and while I'm not perfect I can read a recipe. Being able to read a recipe and follow directions is a key component in being able to cook.
  Do you know how some people think they are destined to write the "great American novel"? Well, on You Little Tarte, I'll give you a great couple of paragraphs. Every recipe has a story, and I'll tell you mine.
   I hope you'll stop by and visit.

A CAKE TO DIE FOR

I have to start by saying that I look at Passover, which begins at sundown on April 18th, as a low-carb holiday. I'm not a matzo eater so I just do without the bread and pasta. It's a meat and veggie time for me. The only exception I make to the Adkins/South Beach approach to Passover is for macaroons, which I love year round, and this really decadent chocolate cake.

This cake has a good story. Back when I first got married and had absolutely no culinary skills, I decided to take a cooking class.

Never mind learning how to roast a chicken, I took a baking class taught by Donald Wressell. Donald, who was then the pastry chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, was just at the beginning of his career and is now a HUGE deal in the pastry world. He's won zillions of awards. Nothing like over reaching one's skill level. There were all these professional pastry chefs in the class and me. Needless to say, I was outclassed in every culinary way possible.

I recognized my situation very quickly, when on the first day of class everyone went around and gave a brief bio of themselves. "Hi, I'm Joe Pastry Chef and I work at (name your fancy restaurant or hotel)." I was in real trouble. When it was my turn, I did what any self respecting Santa Monica newlywed would do. I went to the bathroom, thus avoiding the "Hi, I'm Nadine and I have no idea what I'm doing here" speech.

The good news in all this was that it was a demonstration class so I never actually had to do anything besides watch and learn. And I did. I came out of that class armed with a bunch of fancy schmancy recipes that I have only mastered in more recent years. Hey, you live and learn.

One of the recipes Donald demonstrated was this one for flourless chocolate cake. It takes flourless chocolate cake to a whole new level. Do not be put off by the 18 egg yolks. Yes, you heard me right. There are 18 egg yolks in this cake. The cake is amazing and really spruces up the dessert offerings at a sedar. I'm not saying the Passover brownies aren't tasty but this cake is better. Really. It's worth the calories and the cholesterol. Have a small piece, and you'll avoid the emergency room and an angioplasty.

And, if you're not a Passover person, make the cake anyway. It's not actually a Passover cake. I just adopted it as such because it's sans flour. I'm probably breaking some other kosher rules with it anyway.

RECIPE: FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
(Donald Wressell)

Note: If you are making this cake for Passover you can use the whites to make your macaroons.

Ingredients:
1 pound 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
12 ounces unsalted butter
18 egg yolks
4 ounces granulated sugar
3 ounces cocoa powder

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 10 inch round baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the chocolate with the butter. Let cool slightly.
In a stand mixer, whip the egg yolks with the sugar until very light, about 5 minutes. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg sugar mixture. Sift in the cocoa powder. On medium speed, beat the mixture just to combine. Mixture will appear fudgy and heavy.
Transfer to prepared pan and bake in a water bath for 25 minutes.
Sift more cocoa powder or confectioner's sugar on top of cake to serve, if desired.

Photos: You Little Tarte

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Here's a great recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Glaze from the new cookbook: Absolutely Chocolate (Fine Cooking Magazine). This is gluten free. This is not the same recipe for my own Flourless Cake or the TV Food Network Flourless Chocolate Cake. Whatever you do, celebrate with chocolate this week!

Ingredients:
3/4 ounce (1/4 cup) unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy; more for the pan
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (2 1/4 cups)
6 ounces (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces; more for the pan
5 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water

For the glaze:
1/4 pound bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Directions:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Lightly butter the bottom of a 9x2 round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment. Lightly butter the parchment and the sides of the pan and dust with cocoa. Tap out any excess cocoa.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a medium bowl and let cool slightly. With a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt and 2 tablespoons water. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is very foamy, pale in color, and doubled in volume, 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually pour the chocolate mixture. Increase the speed to medium high and continue beating until well blended, about 30 seconds. Add the cocoa and mix on medium low just until blended, about 30 seconds.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a pick inserted in the center comes out looking wet with small gooey clumps, 40 to 45 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes. If necessary, gently push the edges down with your fingertips until the layer is even. Run a small knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Cover the cake pan with a wire rack and invert. Remove the pan and parchment and let the cake cool completely. The cake may look cinched in and around its sides, which is fine. Transfer to a cake plate. Cover and refrigerate the cake until it's very cold, at least six hours or overnight.

Glaze the cake: Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave or in a medium metal bowl set in a skillet of barely simmering water, stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth. Pour the warm glaze over the chilled cake and, using an offset spatula, spread the glaze evenly to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is set, 20 to 40 minutes. Before serving, remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes. To serve, cut the cake into small, if not tiny, slices using a hot knife.

Photo: Terri Lee Gruss