Servings: 8-10
Preheat: 350°
Source: Fine Cooking May 2004
This mousse-like cake really does melt in your mouth. It can be baked up to a day before serving and stored lightly wrapped at room temperature. If you don’t have a 9×3-inch cake pan, use a 9×2-inch pan (a standard size sold in supermarkets) and construct a parchment collar so the cake has room to rise. Cut two 6X16″” strips of parchment. Fold the two strips lengthwise to get two 3X16″” strips. Butter one side of each strip. Line the inside edge of the pan with the strips, nestling them into each other, with folded edge on the top and the buttered side facing in.
For this cake, it’s worth splurging on the best chocolate you can buy. We like Callebaut.
Ingredients
11 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 oz (12 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 lg eggs, separated, at room temp
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 oz (¼ cup) all-purpose flour
¼ cup bourbon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp kosher salt
FOR SERVING:
I cup heavy cream
1 to 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Directions
Position an oven rack on the middle rung and heat the oven to 350°F.
Butter a 9×3-inch cake pan (or line a shallower one as directed below). Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment and butter the parchment. Set the cake pan in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate it.
Melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
With an electric mixer (a stand mixer with the whip attachment or a hand mixer), beat the egg yolks with the brown sugar on medium speed until very pale, thick, and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed, add the chocolate mixture, and mix just to combine. Add the flour, mixing just to combine and scraping the bowl as needed. Blend in the bourbon and vanilla. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
In a clean mixing bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the salt on high speed until they hold soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. With a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, and then gently fold in the remaining whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Set the roasting pan on the oven rack and add enough warm tap water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the top feels set, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the cake pan from the water bath and run a paring knife around the inside of the pan (or the inside of the parchment collar) to loosen the cake and then let the cake cool completely in the cake pan on a rack. When the cake is completely cool, loosen the sides once more with a paring knife, Cover the cake with a serving plate and invert the cake onto the plate. The bottom of the cake is now the top. Peel off the parchment. (Don’t worry if the surface looks a little ragged; you’ll be dusting with confectioners’ sugar).