Flourless Chocolate Cake

Welcome to 2010! I hope you start off the year well and wish you and your loved ones a wonderful year!

I wish I was one of those people who can stick to traditions, such as black-eyed peas and greens on New Year's Day, but somehow it never turns out that way. However, I do like to fete the first of the year if simply for the fact that beginnings of any kind always inspire me.

Flourless chocolate cakes always represent indulgence to me: silky chocolate in dense form, crying out for lightly whipped cream or rich ice cream. Like so many desserts, they do not come intuitively to me so I make the mistake of thinking they are difficult to make. So wrong! This is so easy to whip up, especially if you have the chocolate on hand. Dusting it with some powdered sugar makes it so festive!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, broken into 1/2 inch size pieces
4 oz semisweet chocolate bits
9 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons of almond meal
5 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9 inch pan (springform if possible). Flour pan and shake out excess. Place both chocolates in double boiler over simmering water, stir until melted, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 3 minutes. Then gradually stir butter into chocolate. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and almond meal and blend well. Stir in egg yolks one at a time. In separate bowl beat egg whites and salt until they form soft peaks. Add remaining sugar to egg whites and beat until they hold their shape. Fold the whites, 1/3 at a time, into the chocolate. Pour into greased pan and bake 30 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Hugs!