Flourless Mexican Chocolate Cake with Creme Anglaise
Happy soon-to-be 2010, lovelies! Actually, truth be told, I’m a bit of a new year’s grinch — I find the holiday to get really overhyped and become really unpleasant the more parties I try to cram in to one night. Give me any old Friday night over New Year’s, any year (even the end of the infamous aughts). Last year, I believe I spent midnight running off a G train in Williamsburg to a desolate loft party, and then restraining a friend from a fight in a Greek deli (while eating a delicious triple-decker grilled chicken club sandwich, I might add) at approximately four in the morning. Not the greatest track record.
In honor of the booziest holiday I can think of, I was going to post about this punch, which I made for my birthday party a few weeks ago and despite admonishing everyone else not to have more than one cup (advice few people followed), I also didn’t follow my own advice and promptly ingested too much of this liquor + lemon juice devil drink to remember to properly photograph it. So, take my word for it, kiddos. If you want some belated making out under the mistletoe, this is the punch for you.
However, if you’re going it a little quieter this New Year’s — say, a classy dinner party (or a classy dinner party before makeout devil punch) — then this cake is the thing for you. It is perfect for any festive (or not so festive) occasion, fast and easy, chocolatey but not chocolate overload (I am not one for chocolate overload) because of the unexpected afterburn of spice.
This cake is best made one (or even two) days ahead of time, to let the flavors meld and develop. Because it’s so rich, it will stay perfectly moist. Oh, and the original recipe had half the amount of spice that I’m listing below (including my vague increase from one dash of cayenne to two). You can do less than this and then taste; I like to feel the burn a little, I suppose.
Burn-related: the creme anglaise may sound a little daunting, but it shouldn’t. It is extremely easy, and extremely unctuously delicious, and therefore extremely soothing against the spiciness of the cake. However, if you are too daunted, or simply don’t have time (about 20 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling time) to make it, you can substitute whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Flourless Mexican Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Simply Recipes, via David Lebovitz
Serves…10, at least
Ingredients
- 10 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I used a bar of Scharffen Berger)
- 7 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
- 2 dashes of cayenne pepper
- Pinch of salt
- Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9 ½ inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper. Grease the sides and the parchment with butter or non-stick cooking spray (I love Pam for Baking cooking spray, myself).
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed.
4. Pour into the springform pan and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack, the let sit one or two days, if possible. Dust with powdered sugar (through a sieve) and serve.
Crème Anglaise
Adapted from Regan Daley’s In The Sweet Kitchen
Makes about 3 ½ cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- 6 large egg yolks
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Combine milk and ¼ cup sugar in a heavy-bottomed, 2-quart saucepan (a medium-sized pot).
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Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with a knife (the black pulp) and add these, and the hull, to the pot.
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Bring the mixture just to the boil over medium heat, then remove from heat and let it infuse for 5 minutes.
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Meanwhile, lightly whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining sugar.
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Whisking constantly (so the eggs won’t scramble), slowly pour the hot milk into the egg yolk-sugar mixture, a little at a time, until all the milk is incorporated.
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Rinse out the pot used to heat the milk, but don’t dry it (a little residue will help keep the custard from burning).
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Prepare a fine-mesh strainer over a medium-sized bowl.
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Pour the custard back in the pot and return the pot to medium-high heat.
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Cook custard, stirring occasionally, about 7-10 minutes, until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. (A finger drawn across the spoon should leave a clean trail.)
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Immediately pour the custard through the strainer. Discard the vanilla bean.
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Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard and poke a few holes in it to allow steam to escape. Cool sauce until lukewarm and then refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours, and up to 4 days.
Any suggestions as to what I could substitute for the chipotle chili, not being able to get any here (and loath to order some online just for one recipe!), and having no idea what it actually tastes like?
Hi Not Heidi — The thing about the chipotle chili is that it’s both spicy/hot and smoky (chipotles have a smoky flavor), so ideally you’ll want something that is a combo. Food Network suggests substituting 2 parts cayenne and 1 part hickory smoke salt (which would be 1 tsp. cayenne and 1/2 tsp hickory smoke salt here), but I don’t know if it’s any easier to get hickory smoke salt (or something of the like) where you are. If not, I don’t think it would be the end of the world to just substitute cayenne — you just won’t want to do it one to one, since cayenne is spicier. Maybe just do 1 tsp. of cayenne and call it a day. You could also grind dried chipotle chiles or whiz one chipotle chili (canned in adobo) in the food processor, but personally, that would probably be too much work for me, and I’d just go for the cayenne. Let us know how it works out!