Hot Chocolate Cake Recipe

By mamacasma

This mousselike cake is meant to be served straight from the oven—and once you taste it you’ll know why. That doesn’t mean you have to make it at the last minute, though. In fact, you can make the cake ahead of time, freeze it and bake it without even defrosting.

Ingredients

• 1 * 1 brick (8 ounces) fat-free or regular cream cheese
• 6 * 6 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 * 1⁄2 cup skim or whole evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed), or whole milk
• 4 * 4 large eggs, separated, whites into a large bowl, yolks into a cup
• 1 * 1⁄2 cup sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preparation

Step 1

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

1. Heat oven to 300°F. Lightly butter an 8-inch springform pan and coat with the 2 tablespoons sugar. Wrap outside of pan with foil, molding it around pan to prevent batter from seeping out.

2. Put brick of cream cheese and the chocolate in a 1- to 1 1⁄2-quart microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high 45 seconds. Stir, then microwave 45 seconds longer. Stir again until chocolate and cream cheese are melted and blended. Gradually stir in milk, then egg yolks (mixture may look grainy from tiny lumps of cream cheese).

3. Beat egg whites in a large bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form when beaters are lifted. Gradually beat in sugar mixture. Beat 5 minutes longer until stiff, glossy peaks form when beaters are lifted.

4. Briskly stir about 1⁄3 the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture. Gently stir (fold) in remaining whites just until blended (don’t overmix or whites will deflate). Pour into prepared pan. (At this point cake may be frozen. See Cook’s Tip.)

5. Bake 1 hour or until cake feels equally firm when pressed near the edge and in the center (top of cake may crack). Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Remove foil. Run a thin knife around edge of cake to loosen before removing pan sides. Cut in wedges to serve.

Cook’s Tip: If you need your springform pan, remove the frozen cake, wrap airtight in foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Unwrap cake, put back in pan and increase baking time to 1 hour and 45 minutes.