CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE (KALOUGAT DE BLANCHE)
With merriment in her voice, Morse describes her great-grandmother’s chocolate pudding cake as “fabulous, a star recipe.” Of the 15chocolate cake recipes in Blanche’s notebook, this one rose to the top. Morse says the cake is best served a day after it’s baked because it becomes denser. She suggests serving it accompanied with crème anglaise, but whipped cream or crème fraiche sweetened with a little powdered sugar would also work.
Yield: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
9tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
7 ounces dark chocolate, broken into pieces
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted, divided use 1/4 cup almond meal; see cook’s notes 2 teaspoons white vinegar
Optional: A small amount of powdered sugar to dust top of cake.
Accompaniment: Crème anglaise, or whipped cream, or crème fraiche mixed with a little powdered sugar.
Cook’s notes: The terms “almond flour” and “almond meal” are often used interchangeably, though they are not the same. Almond meal comes from whole almonds with skins, almond flour from skinless blanched nuts.
Defining the baking term “to form a ribbon”: When you lift the mixer attachment or whisk from the mixture, the batter should fall back in thick trails. The ribbon lines will stay suspended on top of the batter, remaining clearly visible for a few moments before slowly disappearing.
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using 1 tablespoon butter, grease the bottom and sides of a round, 8-inch, straight-sided baking pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a double boiler, over high heat, bring water to a boil in lower container. Remove from the heat and add chocolate and the rest of the butter to the upper container. Stir the mixture until smooth. Set aside.
3. Separate the eggs. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar until mixture forms thick ribbons (see cook’s notes). To this, in increments, add almond meal and the chocolate-butter mixture. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites and vinegar until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold it into the butter-chocolatealmond meal mixture and pour batter into prepared pan. Set in water bath; place cake pan in a larger pan and add hot water to the outer pan, filling it with just enough water to come halfway up the side of the cake pan. Bake until cake is set, 45to 50minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack for 10 minutes before unmolding. Peel away the parchment paper and return to cooling rack to cool overnight. If desired, dust the top of the cake with a little powdered sugar; place powdered sugar in small sieve and shake over the top.
5. Cut into wedges. Serve with crème anglaise, or whipped cream, or crème fraiche sweetened with a little powdered sugar.