Flourless Chocolate Cake

RICH! RICH! RICH! This is the only adjective that I can think of right now.  This is my first time baking and eating a flourless cake.  I baked this cake together with my cousin, Doreen when she came to visit me.  While she was whisking her soft fluffy orange cake, I was busy whipping this gorgeous little sweetie.  YES, we baked two cakes that morning.  You can image how my entire kitchen smelled like.

On a personal note, loved the cake a lot.  My son, who is never a cake lover was seen scampering back for a second slice.  As soon as the cake is out of the oven, the smell almost instantly wafted the entire kitchen and within seconds invaded the entire house.  Even cooling the cake for five minutes seemed too long a wait.  As soon as it was ready to be dug in, only then I remembered that I needed a photo shot.  So, this explains the rather messy and unorganised pictures. 

I particularly loved the texture of the cake.  The egg yolks and whites are separately whisked which gives the cake a slightly mousse-y consistency.  Be prepared, this cake is just goddamn smooth and moist.  It certainly has the melt-in-the-mouth effect but will turn a little denser after a day.  Having said that, it is still heavenly gracious!

I must credit this recipe to Christine of Christine's Recipes, whose cook book is currently selling like hot cakes within the Asian countries particularly Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.  

Recipe
(adapted from Christine's Recipes)

Ingredients:

• 250gm dark chocolate
• 5 eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 120gm caster sugar
• 150gm unsalted butter
• 50gm ground almond (almond meal), optional
• Icing sugar, for garnish

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C (335F). Melt chocolate, butter and sugar in a bowl over a pot of hot water at low-medium heat. After melting all ingredients, remove from heat, stir thoroughly to combine.
2. Mix in ground almonds. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. (Note: Make sure the mixture is not too hot, as you don't want the egg yolks cooked at this stage.)
3. Beat egg whites with slow-speed electric mixer for 2 minutes. Then turn to high speed and beat until the egg whites become very stiff and peaked.
4. Fold in a few spoons of egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Gently fold in the rest with small amount at a time for 3 times just until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not beat.
5. Turn the mixture into a greased and floured 20cm round bakery tin. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Insert a needle to test the cake. If the needle comes out clean, it’s cooked through.
6. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.