Recently we had friends coming from out of town to visit, and I wanted to have a spectacular dessert to share with them. They know good food, so it had to be something really special. My friend Stacy suggested the Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe she found on AllRecipes.com. When I heard it was a gluten free chocolate cake recipe, I admit I was a little skeptical. But she assured me it was absolutely fabulous, so I went for it. So glad I did. SO glad. Although my thighs might not be so glad. It is the richest, most delectable, most amazing chocolate dessert I have ever tasted. This is what they mean when they say "death by chocolate." It's more like a dense, fudgy tarte than a cake. I can't explain it--you'll just have to try it. This would be a perfect dessert for your Father's Day or graduation get togethers, whether you're celebrating with someone with a gluten-free diet or not!
Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe or
Death By Chocolate (adapted from
AllRecipes.com)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar
18 (1 ounce) squares or 18 oz. chips bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used semisweet)
1 cup butter
6 eggs
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 9
or 10-inch round cake pan and set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside. Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven, melt the chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer. Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, one piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan (I used a 9x13 pan for this).
Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan (or put in freezer for about an hour). To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate. If it doesn't come out perfectly, simply smooth out any cracked or uneven surfaces with a knife. Serve cold topped with homemade whipped cream and berries. I used my warm blackberry sauce recipe and it was just the right touch of tart for the richness of the chocolate.
Blackberry Sauce Recipe (works great with raspberries, too!)
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 c. or more fresh blackberries (or raspberries), washed
In a saucepan, stir sugar, water, and cornstarch until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cook until it starts to boil. Add berries and stir, boiling until thickened. This is also delicious over vanilla ice cream and buttermilk pie!
