Flourless Chocolate Nut Cake KA

By mariannefeldman

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/flourless-chocolate-nut-cake-recipe

Ingredients

• Blog: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2010/03/21/no-flour-no-leavening-no-baking-no-way-chocolate-nut-cake-is-perfect-for-passover/
• Volume Ounces Grams
• Cake
• 10 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
• 3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar, to mix with the egg yolks
• 2 cups diced pecans, finely ground; OR 2 cups pecan meal
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, to mix with the egg whites
• Glaze
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Preparation

Step 1

King Arthur Flour
Flourless Chocolate Nut Cake

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Perfect for Passover, this moist, light cake gets its body from egg whites and nuts. Chocolate-espresso glaze adds another dimension of flavor.

Directions
1) Lightly grease a 10" tube pan or angel food pan. For best results, cut a piece of parchment or waxed paper to fit the bottom of the pan, and grease the paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2) Separate the room-temperature eggs, putting the whites and yolks in separate large bowls.
3) Melt the two chocolates together, stirring till smooth, and set aside.
4) Beat the egg yolks till smooth and lemon-yellow. Add the salt and 2/3 cup sugar, and beat again till thickened and lightened in color.
5) Stir in the melted chocolate.
6) Stir in the nuts. They should be processed as fine as possible; they'll probably be a bit pasty.
7) Beat the egg whites and vanilla till foamy.
8) With the beater going, sprinkle in the 1/4 cup sugar, beating till soft peaks form.
9) With the mixer at low speed, gradually fold the whites into the yolk mixture, mixing gently till no streaks show.
10) Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan.
11) Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes, till a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove it from the oven, and set it on a rack. Loosen the edges, and let it cool in the pan for 1 hour. Loosen the edges again.
12) Invert the cake onto the rack, and prepare the glaze.
13) To make the glaze, combine all of the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl or saucepan, and heat till the chips are very soft. Stir till smooth.
14) If the glaze isn't pourable, add more cream to thin it out. Pour over the cake. It's OK if the cake is still warm when you glaze it.
Yield: 10" cake, about 16 servings.

Recipe summary
Hands-on time:
15 mins. to 25 mins.
Baking time:
35 mins. to 40 mins.
Total time:
1 hrs 50 mins. to 2 hrs 5 mins.
Yield:
10" round tube cake
Tips from our bakers
Forgot to bring your eggs to room temperature? Just place them in a large bowl of warm water for 10 to 15 minutes.
When separating the eggs, drop the eggs into a cup, one by one, before adding them to the large bowl. That way, if a stray piece of shell sneaks in, you can easily fish it out. And if the yolk breaks into the white, you'll only lose that single egg, not a whole bowlful.
What's the difference between using finely ground pecans, and pecan meal? The cake with the finely ground pecans will rise a bit taller, and its texture will be less smooth; a bit chunkier. Our tasters said the texture brought to mind Passover charoset.