Toffee Kahlua Madness

By bethnil

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 3 Heath Bars, finely crushed. (All Heath Bars mentioned are the 1 1/8 oz size. To crush the toffee, put them in a Zip-Lock plastic bag and pound them with a wooden mallet.)
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
• Cake:
• 8 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature and separated
• 1 1/2 T. Kahlua
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• Topping:
• 3 Heath Bars, crushed "medium"
• Sauce:
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 2-3 T. Kahlua
• 1 T. vanilla

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine crushed Heath Bars and pecans and press onto bottom only of a lightly buttered 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min. Remove from oven and cool while you prepare cake.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a heavy pan over very low heat. Transfer melted mixture to a large bowl and gradually whisk in sugar, then egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in Kahlua and vanilla. Place egg whites in a small mixing bowl and beat with salt until soft peaks form. Whites should not be too stiff or dry.

Gradually whisk flour into chocolate mixture and then fold in egg whites until well combined. Pour over toffee crust and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Carefully pull rack and cake partly out of oven and sprinkle the remaining crushed Heath Bars over top. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cool in pan on a rack (it will become moist and fudgy as it cools). Release sides and place on serving plate.

For sauce:
Place yolks and sugar in top of double boiler and beat with a whisk until light and well mixed (it does NOT need to become foamy). Gradually add cream and half & half.

Now place pan over hot water in bottom of double boiler and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture thickens and coats the spoon. Remove from heat.

Stir in Kahlua and vanilla. Let cool or chill slightly before serving. Pour or ladle a small amount of sauce over each serving.