Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake

I love birthdays! Always have, always will. Of course I love my own birthday, but I also love celebrating other people's birthdays too. They're so much fun! That is YOUR day! When I was a little kid, I would make countdowns and hang them on the wall whenever a member of our family had a birthday approaching. Then I would sit down with my construction paper and make decorations to hang. And of COURSE, if it was your birthday then you got to pick what you wanted for dinner and there were always birthday brownies! :-) Birthdays are just so great! I love celebrating!

My mother-in-law's birthday was a few days ago, so we had a birthday celebration for her last night. I wanted to make a birthday cake for her, and I've had this Chocolate cookbook by Pampered Chef that I keep drooling over and have been dying to make something out of it. I decided on the Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake.

I have never made a flourless cake before, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I was expecting it to be more "cakey", but it was definitely more fudge-like and very rich! They weren't kidding when they put the word "decadent" in the title! Whew! After I served it last night, I felt bad and was worried that it was way too rich for everyone, but, as Julia Child taught, never apologize for your food! I get really nervous when other people eat my cooking, so I think I was being too critical when I had some of the cake last night. I gave it another try today and was much more happy with how it turned out today than I was last night.

It really is quite delicious, you just have to eat it in moderation because it is so dense and rich. The recipe is pretty self-explanatory. Definitely make sure to read through the whole recipe before you get started. As I was preparing everything, I got to the part that has you mix the sugar and egg yolks, and I got confused for a few seconds. Luckily, I read through to the next step and saw that I use the egg whites at a later time. So make sure to separate your egg yolks and whites and don't throw anything away! You do use both parts! Also, one of the ingredients is Double-Strength Vanilla, which I didn't have, so I just used regular vanilla and doubled the amount it asked for.

It says to "bake for 35-40 minutes or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken," but I checked on mine after only 30 minutes and it was completely baked through. It would have burned if I had left it in for the full 40 minutes. It seems that everyone's ovens are different, so just make sure to check on the cake sooner rather than later to avoid over-baking.

I wish I had taken a video of applying the glaze to the cake... I poured the glaze on top of the cake and as I spread it over the top, it just so perfectly spilled over the sides of the cake and coated it all around. It was so beautiful. The cookbooks says that you can really dress this cake up if you wish. It suggests coating the sides of the cake with finely chopped pistachios, or garnish it with chocolate curls. For the chocolate curls, the book says to "place 4 oz bittersweet chocolate in a clean, dry Small Micro-Cooker. Microwave, uncovered, on high 1 1/2 minutes or until mostly melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Using Large Spreader, spread chocolate in a thin layer over back of Large Sheet Pan. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes or until chocolate is slightly set. Drag blade of Nylon Knife along chocolate to make large curls."

I definitely recommend this recipe, just know that it is very rich! Very rich, but very delectable!

Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake
Pampered Chef: Chocolate
Published by The Pampered Chef in 2011.

Prep time: 50 minutes  Total time: 2 hours, 50 minutes  Yield: 18 servings
Cake
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into pieces
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp hot water
1 tsp Double-Strength Vanilla
1 cup sugar
5 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Glaze
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
5 tbsp butter
2 tsp light corn syrup

Toppings
1 cup roasted salted pistachios, finely chopped (optional)
Large Chocolate Curls (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray Springform Pan with nonstick cooking spray. For cake, place chocolate and butter in Large Micro-Cooker. Microwave, uncovered, on high 1 1/2 minutes or until mostly melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Set aside.
2. Place cocoa powder in (2-cup) Prep Bowl. Stir in hot water and vanilla to form a smooth paste; set aside. Place sugar and egg yolks in Stainless (4-qt.) Mixing Bowl; beat on medium-high speed of electric mixer until doubled in volume. Pour in chocolate mixture; beat on medium-high speed until well blended. Add cocoa mixture; mix on medium-low speed just until blended.
3. In Small Batter Bowl and using clean beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold half of the egg white mixture into chocolate mixture just until blended. Repeat with remaining egg white mixture. Pour into pan; spread to edges using Small Spreader. Bake 35-40 minutes or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken. (Center will firm as it cools. Do not overbake.) Remove from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Gently press down on edges of cake to form a flat surface. Loosen edges of cake from pan. Remove collar from pan.
4. For glaze, place chocolate and butter in Small Micro-Cooker. Microwave, uncovered, on high 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in corn syrup. To glaze, place Parchment Paper under cooling rack. Pour glaze evenly over cake; spread over top and sides of cake using Small Spreader. Coat sides with finely chopped pistachios, if desired. Refrigerate up to 1 hour or until glaze is set. Garnish with Large Chocolate Curls, if desired.