Triple Threat Chocolate Cake

 I love chocolate--so to celebrate Valentines Day I made the richest chocolate cake in my repertoire. And because I am wise and have no will-power we took this beautiful cake to "after yoga" to share.  Talk about winning friends, I felt like a rock star.  Every head turned in adoration, tongues lolling, a little drooling and a few heavy sighs--everyone loves chocolate cake!

This recipe comes from my daughter Jerica.  I love this recipe because it is relatively simple, versatile and results in a beautiful dense dark chocolate cake.  What's not to love!

I start by melting a mixture of semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate, because I like dark chocolate.  The recipe advises melting the chocolate over a double boiler, but after exhaustive research and trial and error, I have discovered that the microwave does the job just as well.  It is faster and you can do it all in one bowl.  I do it in 30 second bursts--stir, check for melti-ness and repeat until the chocolate is melted or almost melted.  (The last few bits will melt from the surrounding chocolate lava.)  Then I set this aside to cool a bit and separate the eggs.

Jerica was a poor graduate student when she first made this recipe so she did not have a mix-master and she assures me the next steps can be done with a hand whisk or electric beaters.  Lucky me, I have a mix-master but I do not have an extra bowl for it so I improvise.  I beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks and then transfer them to another bowl and pop them in the fridge.   A quick rinse and my bowl is ready for the next step.  I drop in some butter and sugar and set the machine to medium.

When the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, I slide in the eggs.  Just a quick whip until everything is combined and creamy.

Now is the time for creativity--Jerica adds Gran Marnier and orange peel, but I don't love orange and chocolate so I add Kahlua.  (I have also made this recipe with Amaretto.  Like truffles, I think this recipe would lend itself to any liquor you prefer.  The next time I make this I am going to add cayenne and chipotle chile powder, for a spicy, smoky chocolate cake!)

Give this a stir and add the flour and a pinch of salt.  When this is all combined add the warm chocolate and stir until everything is well combined.  Then fold in the egg whites--this lightens the batter but take care to fold gently so that the egg whites do not collapse.  Carefully pour the batter into a parchment lined spring form pan and pop it into a 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Do not over bake the cake, test it at 35 to 40 minutes with a toothpick.  The top will look dry and cracked and the tester will come out with a few moist crumbs.  Cool your cake in the pan.

When the cake has cooled completely, remove it from the spring form and place it on a rack over a baking sheet in preparation for the ganache.

 

Combine butter and chocolate in a bowl and melt it gently in the microwave.  I added a generous tablespoon of Kahlua and stirred it in completely.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it is just about ready to boil and stir it into the melted chocolate.  (I was out of heavy cream--gasp--so again I improvised and used half and half!) 

 This is the funnest part--just pour the warm melty chocolate over the cake!  Make sure it flows over to coat the sides of the cake and then let it rest.  Gently slide it onto a cake stand, cover it with a dome and let it chill in the fridge to set the ganache.

Voile!  Three kinds of chocolate combined in two different ways--that probably makes it more of an exponential threat but I would rather cook than do the math!

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Triple Threat Chocolate Cake

10 oz. chocolate, chopped or baking chips (I use a combination of semi-sweet, bittersweet and super dark chocolate to get a really rich combination.)

1 c. sugar

¾ c. butter, room temp

6 eggs, separated

2 TB Kahlua (again, use your imagination and personal preference)

2 tsp. vanilla

½ c. flour

¼ tsp. salt

For ganache:

5 oz. chocolate combination

5 TB butter

2 TB Kahlua

½ c. half and half or heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter 10 in. springform pan and make a little parchment paper round to line the bottom.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, or over a double boiler.  Set aside to cool a bit.

Beat the egg whites until they form peaks.  Set aside in the fridge. 

Combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks, liquor and vanilla and beat again until well combined.  Stir in the warm chocolate.  Add flour and salt and stir to blend.  Fold the egg whites gently into the chocolate mixture in three additions.  Transfer batter into springform pan.

Bake cake until top is dry and cracked and tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.  Cool cake in pan on rack completely.  Cover and let stand at room temperature.

A few hours before serving make the ganache.  Melt butter and chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave, again in 30 second bursts.  Stir in the liquor until well blended.  Warm the cream in a small saucepan just to the point of boiling and stir into the chocolate. 

Remove the cake from the pan and set on a cake rack over a baking sheet.  Pour the ganache over the cake allowing it to flow over, coating the sides of the cake.  Let rest for a few minutes and then slide the cake gently onto a cake stand, cover with a dome and chill in the fridge to set the ganache.