The late Richard Sax, celebrated cookbook author and champion of home cooks the world over, inspired this flourless chocolate cake—a riff on his iconic chocolate cloud cake.
INGREDIENTS:
- Cake:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1″ pieces, plus more, room temperature, for pan
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided, plus more for pan
- 10 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (61%-72% cacao), coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Topping:
- 1 cup chilled heavy cream
- 1/2 cup mascarpone
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Special Equipment
- A 9″-diameter springform pan
PREPARATION:
- For cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter springform pan and dust with sugar, tapping out any excess.
- Combine chocolate, oil, and 1/2 cup butter in a large heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan of simmering water and heat, stirring often, until melted. Remove bowl from saucepan.
- Separate 4 eggs, placing whites and yolks in separate medium bowls. Add cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, 1/4 cup sugar, and remaining 2 eggs to bowl with yolks and whisk until mixture is smooth. Gradually whisk yolk mixture into chocolate mixture, blending well.
- Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until frothy. With mixer running, gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar; beat until firm peaks form.
- Gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture in 2 additions, folding just until incorporated between additions. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Bake until top is puffed and starting to crack and cake is pulling away from edge of pan, 35-45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool completely in pan (cake will collapse in the center and crack further as it cools). DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cover in pan and store airtight at room temperature.
.
Source:epicurious.com