Gâteau au Chocolat

Le Gâteau au Chocolat Fondant de Nathalie

(adapted from Je veux du chocolat! by Trish Deseine, Marabout, 2002)

8-10 servings

This is a very dense and rich chocolate cake.  The flavors develop with rest, so if you can, make this cake the night before serving.  It is incredibly easy to make.  I use a scale for ease of measurement.  This cake lends itself to many different flavors.  My preference is with Tonka bean and a bit of cinnamon or Timur pepper.  I once made it with half sweet and half very salty French butter which feeds nicely into the salty everything fad. The recipe is very easily adapted to make it gluten-free. Experiment with different flavors. 

Ingredients

200g (7 oz.) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona

200g (7 oz.) unsalted butter (if you only have salted, use that)

250g (9 oz.) sugar

5 eggs

2 rounded soup spoons (Tbs) flour (or replace with powdered almonds, hazelnuts, or chestnut flour for a nutty flavor and gluten-free option)

Optional Flavoring: 1 tsp. instant espresso, 1 tsp. cinnamon, a few drops of almond oil, 1 tsp. vanilla extract or powdered vanilla, sea salt, Pondicherry or Timur pepper, etc.

Optional: 1 Tbs. roasted cocoa nibs

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the Oven to 375ºF / 190ºC

Prep the Pan

1 9” spring form pan

butter for the pan

raw cane sugar, crushed Tonka bean (optional)

The cake

1. Butter the baking pan and sprinkle a mixture of raw cane sugar or Turbinado sugar and one Tonka bean (if you have it!) that you’ve crushed in a mortar.  This gives this fudgy cake a bit of textural crunch.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl.  Microwave for 2 minutes until the butter and chocolate are almost melted.  Check the chocolate so that it doesn’t burn.  Microwaves will vary. The chocolate mixture should be removed from the microwave while there are still some partially unmelted chocolate pieces. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
3. Add the sugar, stirring until incorporated.  Let cool a few minutes (to avoid cooking the eggs that you'll add next).
4. (Optinal flavoring) Add 1 tsp. cinnamon, instant espresso, vanilla, or a few drops of almond oil. 
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
6. Add the flour or powdered nuts.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.  Bake at 375ºF for 9 minutes.  Rotate pan and sprinkle cocoa nibs on top, if using.  Bake for another 9 minutes.  After 18 minutes, start checking for doneness.  The cake will wobble a bit in the center and be cooked around the periphery.  Do not bake the cake for longer than 22 minutes (at least in my oven). 
8. Remove the cake from the oven.  Let cool about 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the sides of the spring form pan, release the spring mechanism and remove the outer ring from around the cake. 
9. Cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap.  Store in the refrigerator until an hour or so before serving.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Since this is such a rich cake, I do not add a glaze.  I can be served with a fruit coulis, caramel sauce, ice cream, whipped cream or as is.
10. Enjoy.

GâteauChoc  © 2011 K-Rae Nelson