Ingredients
- 12 oz dark chocolate couverture
- 14 oz (about 4 1/2 cups) pure cocoa powder
- 10 fl oz (1 1/4 cups) water
- 12 oz (about 1 3/4 cup) sugar
- 18 oz (2 1/4 cups) soft butter, at room temperature
- 12 egg whites
- 6 oz (1 scant cup) sugar
- Note 1: The recipes calls for dark chocolate couverture, a coating chocolate available at specialty shops. If you can't get it, substitute equal amounts of dark chocolate and add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of butter for each ounce of chocolate.
Preparation
Step 1
1. Melt the dark chocolate couverture (or chocolate and 1 tbsp butter) and combine it with the cocoa powder in a metal bowl.
2. Bring the water and the first amount of sugar to a boil.
3. Remove sugar water from the heat and pour it into the chocolate.
4. Add the butter, in small pieces, and stir until the chocolate is smooth.
5. Whip the egg whites with the second amount of sugar until they form soft peaks.
6. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
7. Pour the batter into a cake pan and bake it at 350F for about 25 min. (Note, when I tested the cake, I made it in one pan as the recipe suggested. The resulting cake was twice the height of the dessert served at Tapawingo. It took 45 minutes to bake. Based on Kaszubwoski's timing, I would make two 10" pans the next time or halve the recipe.)
KASZUBWOSKI'S TIPS:
1. The chocolate needs to be still warm, but not hot, to produce a smooth consistency of batter.
2. Try not to incorporate too much air into the batter, as it will make the finished product crumbly and difficult to work with.