Chocolate Orbit Cake with Crème Anglaise

You don’t have to be a chef, a baker, or possess a masters in chemistry to master this recipe… You only have to be a Chocolate Lover to love this cake.

Now is the time to use those farm fresh ingredients that you picked up at the farmer’s market this weekend.  Use a high quality quality chocolate and your taste buds will thank you.

This flour-less cake is extremely rich and will taste equally delicious even days after you’ve made it.  Serve this cake with a vanilla crème anglaise, ice cream, or whipped cream to reduce the risk of Chocolate Overload.  Is that even possible?   Nahh!

Chocolate Orbit Cake

Adapted from David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert

Yield:  One 9-inch cake

Ingredients:
10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
7 ounces butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan* and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. If you suspect your springform pan isn’t water-tight, wrap the outside with aluminum foil, making sure it goes all the way up to the outer rim.  If you do not have a springform pan, use a round cake pan lined with a circle of parchment paper

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan.

Bake until cake appears set, approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Your finger should come away clean when you gently touch the center; the cake will still feel quite soft.   Remove the cake from water bath and let cool completely.

Serve thin wedges of this very rich cake at room temperature, with creme anglaise, ice cream, or whipped cream.

Storage: This Chocolate Idiot Cake can be wrapped and chilled in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

 

Crème Anglaise

Yield:   1 to 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean split down the middle
3 tablespoons sugar
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt

Preparation:

Combine milk, vanilla bean, and sugar in a small sauce pan and warm the mixture until just before it simmers; remove from heat and allow the bean to steep 10 minutes. Prepare an ice bath (a large bowl of ice, with a small bowl set in the ice, with a strainer set in the bowl).

Whisk the yolks to combine.

Scrape the vanilla beans out of the pod and into the cream.

Bring the milk just  to a simmer, whisk some of the warmed milk into the yolks to temper them, then add the yolks into the cream while whisking.  Stir with a heatproof rubber spatula over medium heat until it’s thick, a minute or two or more depending on your heat, until it has a nice sauce-like consistency.  The mixture should coat the spatula. Do not boil.

Immediately strain sauce into the ice cold bowl and stir with the spatula till the sauce is chilled.