Bevi's bodacious and luscious ode to...

 

Chocolate Decadence

Ingredients: 1 lb (-3 cups) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped. 1/2 cup plus 2 TBS unsalted butter, at room temp. 4 extra-large eggs, at room temp. 1 TBS sugar 1 TBS flour 3 cups raspberry sauce for topping Whipped cream for topping

From Williams-Sonoma Chocolate

[Bevi's notes: Although this recipe calls for 1 TBS of wheat flour, I've successfully made it using soy or rice flour. I think oatmeal flour will work, too, however it tends to add a distinctive nutty flavor that might not be compatible with the raspberry sauce.]

Williams-Sonoma credits this cake's creation to Narsai David and Janice Feuer at Narsai's restaurant in Berkeley, CA. They use Ghirardelli sweet dark chocolate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare the pan — Butter an 8- or 9-inch layer or springform pan (dark meal pans are best for baking). Line the pan with a circle of parchment (or wax paper) that's been trimmed to fit the pan. Butter the paper. Dust with flour (use soy or rice flours to be wheat-free) and tap out excess flour.

Melt sugars & chocolate — Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler so that it does not touch the simmering water below. Melt slowly, and stir the mixture until it's melted and combined completely. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

Prepare batter — Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl. Beat with an electric beater (high setting) until light, fluffy, and tripled in volume (about 5-10 minutes). Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour. With a rubber spatula, fold the 1/3 of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg mixture taking care not to deflate the batter.

Fill the pan — Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake — Bake exactly 15 minutes @ 425 degrees.

Cooling — Let cool completely to room temperature. Do not refrigerate or the cake will stick to the sides of the pan. Invert onto a flat plate and peel off the paper.

Serve — Slice into small wedges. Top with raspberry sauce and whipped cream. Serves 10.