There must be something wrong with me, I’m baking a cake. Not just any cake. A fussy, French chocolate cake that is usually attempted only by consummate bakers who calibrate their ovens, pay small fortunes for their bakeware, and pay meticulous attention to the instructions. Hey, at least it will be GFCF (gluten and dairy free).
The pros:
- I have all these extra eggs. To be exact, I have 26, 7 of which are hard boiled.
- Serendipitously (or maybe it’s just a face slap by fate) in the pantry are various pieces of chocolate in the exact amount called for by the recipe. How often do you have exactly 7 ounces of chocolate hanging around?
- It’s one of those dull gray days in which an infusion of chocolate can surely save a life.
The cons:
- Research uncovered about 75% of the bakers saying that it didn’t work out for them, and certainly did not look like the cakes in the pictures.
- I do not have the proper sized pan.
- I am not using expensive chocolate (as a matter of fact, I’m not even sure what all of the chocolate is, because most of it was missing labels).
- I am not using expensive French butter.
Let’s make cake!
I melted the chocolate and butter in the microwave and mixed the eggs and the sugar and the cocoa in the mixer. The eggs are supposed to be mixed into the chocolate by hand, one at a time. But I’m in my own little snit here, so mixer it is. The batter looks just fine.
The recipes all vary in their pan size requirement either 8 or 10 inches. Mine is 9”, so I figure I’m good. The parchment roll is empty. This appears to be a critical issue in the removal of the cake from the pan. I used foil.
At the 20 minute mark the cake is subjected to the jiggle test. It looks like a mushroom cloud, and it’s very jiggly (had I used a smaller pan there would be chocolate all over the oven floor). I’m only a little worried, because many people said this happened. Other recipes said 40 minutes total time. I gave it 25 minutes, then 30, then set the timer for 10 more. Mistake - should have stopped at 35.
The cake rested in the pan for 10 minutes, I worried about how done the outer edge is (but, again, many people said this happened, too), but it’s supposed to have a chewy outer layer. The cake deflates, like it’s supposed to. My top is not pretty. The boys smell chocolate and are circling.
Time to depan. It works! Holy crap it came out. Now, you’re supposed to flip it back over, but my top is not very pretty, the bottom looks ok – so it’s staying this way.
Once on the plate and on the windowsill, my little chocolate friend continues to deflate, which, I can only assume, is part of the process, and maybe the fact that the fact that the plate is 1/2” too small. Yeah, it’s just that kind of day. I really should have just eaten this right from the pan.
3 hours later. It’s not beautiful – but one should not judge a book by its cover. The boys are gone… I take the knife and it shatters the crisp shell, then sinks into the chocolaty recess. I gently ease the slice away from the plate… At this point I should get a plate and fork, but, again, there’s no one around to see… Cue fireworks.
I put Flourless Chocolate Cake in the recipe collection with the original instructions, because the volume I put into the eggs was surely the cause of the mushroom cloud. I did not put in the specification to use butter that costs $12-14/lb, but feel free to do so. And, I’m sure it would be awesome to use Ghirardelli or Callebaut chocolate, but I had a mixture of (probably) Hershey’s and Baker’s.
If you make this, and it’s not pretty, don’t cut it in front of your guests, and keep in mind that powdered sugar or whipped cream cover flaws.
Update: The next day this was even better. It was more attractive, and I’m not sure if that was a result of the fact that it settled, or I was in a chocolate stupor.