I recently did a cooking class for Paella at a hotel and served these as a special treat after. It was needed. The class went over well, but after a little chaos!
See, a key step in making perfect paella is browning the chicken in the first step. It requires frying to get the perfect golden brown. However, we were in a small hotel meeting room and set off the fire alarms from the smoke from frying! Minutes later the firefighters were in full gear, yellow hats, coats and all with their fire engine parked in the valet spot. I was embarrassed but still had to deliver a great class!
Luckily, the students were understanding, laughed about it and now have a great story to tell. The paellas came out well despite the frenzy, but I vow to myself to never let it happen again.
Anyway, this chocolate cake saved the day. I served it with Kahlua whipped cream and had to write the recipe here since one of the students asked for it!
It is rich and for true Chocolate lovers only. It does require some technique, but I’ve added pictures with captions to help you along. It is so worth it.
Best part is that you can keep them in the fridge for a couple days, wrapped well and warm them right before eating. This makes them one of the most perfect desserts to serve at your next dinner party.
If you try the recipe, leave a comment below and tell me how it went!
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Flourless Chocolate Cake
Yield: 24 muffin cups
- 6 eggs, separated
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 lb. dark chocolate ( i got the big bar from Trader Joe’s)
- ½ lb. unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
Kahlua cream:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Kahlua
Cooking Spray
1. First, preheat the oven to 325 F. Also, spray the muffin tins with cooking spray very well. (You can also use melted butter with a brush or paper towel. Be sure to remove excess.)
2. In a bowl over a little water, place cut up chocolate and butter together. Keep the bowl over the water, without touching the water. This is a “water bath.” It heats the chocolate more gently to not burn it. Keep at a medium heat. Stir chocolate and butter every now and then with rubber spatula to melt. It takes 7-10 minutes. Low and slow is best. You don’t want to burn chocolate so watch carefully and stir, stir, stir. When melted, take it off the heat.
3. Meanwhile, while chocolate is melting, separate the eggs into two separate large bowls. Yolks and whites.
In a stand electric mixer, or with a handheld mixer in a bowl, start with the yolks. Add to the yolks: ¾ cup sugar and 1 ½ Tablespoon vanilla extract. Mix on high speed until pale and fluffy. Then, set aside. Wash the whisks well. (They need to be washed well before beating the egg whites or the whites won’t get fluffy)
4. In the bowl with the whites, add the 2 tablespoons sugar and ½ teaspoon salt. Whip until very fluffy and almost stiff. (See pictures). This could take a good 5-7 minutes or so. Then, set aside.
5. Add the melted chocolate and butter to the egg yolk mixture. Stir well.
6. Then, add ⅓ of the whipped egg whites (meringue) to the chocolate-yolk mixture. Stir well to combine. Then, carefully add the remaining egg whites and “fold” them into the chocolate-yolk mixture gently. You don’t want to deflate the mixture too much. Once the mixture is one color and mixed in thoroughly, place the bowl back on the water bath for 5 minutes or so. Mix gently until you see “ribbons” form when you lift the spatula up. This means your batter is the perfect consistency to pour into the muffin tins- not too thick, not too thin. (The more you heat it, the thinner the batter will become. This is good until you get ribbons, but don’t heat too much)
7. Pour the batter or spoon them into the muffins tins, until ¾ full.
8. Place the filled muffin trays in the middle rack of the oven for 22 minutes. You don’t want to cook them too long because you want a soft center. Take them out when the tops start to look a little dry.
10. Wait 30 minutes before taking them out of the mold.
That’s your chocolate cake ready.
11. For the Kahlua whipped cream, place the ½ cup heavy cream, 2 T sugar and 1 T Kahlua in a bowl or stand mixer. Whip until very stiff. Reserve for a couple days in the fridge, in an air tight container.
Cakes are best severed warm with cream spooned on top, or ice cream! Add a few raspberries on the plate to make it pretty.
Yolk mixture first:
Egg white, or meringue mixture:
Mixing it all together:
They rise, and then fall, but that’s okay!
