French 'Chocolat' Cake

You guys know I’ll take pie over cake any day, but if I’m going to indulge in cake, it can’t be the big, billowy, blustery American cake layered with frosting and unnecessary sweetness. Over and over again I gravitate towards French cakes because they are just more delicate, using minimal flour, relying instead of almond meal, and frequently topped with cream instead of icing. This one is on par with my little lemon cake but it’s chocolate… with just a few tablespoons of almond meal, it has a dense but delicate consistency. You could whip it up in under an hour for a last minute dessert and it’s beautiful with a coffee or a bourbon. #minimalistcooking

This is also the cake recipe used in the movie Chocolat (for those who are following my cinema-inspired recipe line…). Vianne serves this cake dusted with cocoa powder and slivered, toasted almonds. I can easily envision a variation that incorporates finely shredded, unsweetened coconut as well. But we’ll leave that for another time. For now, enjoy brilliant, original, French simplicity.

what you need

12 oz dark bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

10 tablespoons of butter

2/3 cup sugar

5 tablespoons finely ground almond flour

5 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt

how to make it

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a springform pan by dusting it with cocoa powder and placing a round of parchment paper in the bottom.

Use a double boiler or set a bowl in a saucepan half full of simmering water on the stovetop. Melt the chocolate and the butter in this way, stirring to incorporate. Sprinkle the cayenne pepper in with the chocolate.

*Note: you never want to melt chocolate directly in a pot on the stove as it will burn. Take care not to get ANY water in your chocolate while melting it as this will cause the chocolate to separate and harden.

Remove from the heat and whisk in half of the sugar, the egg yolks (slowly, so as not to scramble them), the almond flour, and the vanilla until smooth.

In separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they start to hold their shape. At this point, add the salt and gradually add the sugar until stiff peaks form and the egg whites become silky and shiny.

Fold the egg whites gradually into the chocolate mixture just until no streaks remain. Overmixing will cause the cake to be denser than you want it.

Pour into the springform pan and bake until just set, somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with several crumbs on it.

Let cake cool completely, run a knife around the edge, release the springform pan, and serve with hot coffee.

🎂