Death By Chocolate

What a sweet, sweet way to go. Actually, I've always thought just the opposite about death and chocolate.. there is a strict rule between myself and a friend of mine - if I were ever to get hit by a bus or happened to be frolicking in the forest during deer season and was accidently mistaken for a 9 pt. buck and shot in the head - she is NOT to perform CPR on me.. she is to shove a chocolate bar in my mouth.. either that chocolate will miraculously bring me back to life (because it's good for you, dammit!).. or it will be the last thing I taste before I go.. and that's alright by me. :D

Have you guys ever wondered..
how long of a run on sentence I can make..
with lil ..'s in between thoughts?

Anyhoo.. This month's "challenge" and fun crosspost with my baking blogger buddies was a bit different. We've decided to add a few people (or baking bitches) each month to our lil "club", or brigade, or as I like to call it, Team Tasty. This month's inductees are 3 lovely and talented bakers: Tanna, Hester and Mary. And, of course, for those of you who follow our lil monthly excursions into the baking unknown, you already know the rest of the crew by now - My second in Dorkdom command, Brilynn. The loves of my life, the apples of my eye, the creams in my coffee, the ménage in my trois, Ivonne and Helen (the quiet one). The extremely talented baker, photographer and the gal I now call Gracie, Peabody. My twin sister (at least in my mind), Veronica. And last, but certainly not least.. as she's the cutest Mommie Baker, I know, Jenny.

It was also decided that we'd each submit a suggestion for the month's challenge then we'd all vote - whichever suggestion gets the most votes is what we'll be trying to accomplish by some set date that we also all decide on.. kinda cool, eh? This month's winner was Peabody's suggestion for a flourless chocolate cake. And a damn fine winner, if I do say so myself.

As we wondered which recipe we'd all bake.. Ivonne suggested the recipe in Tish Boyle's The Cake Book. I still do not own this book, but if the rest of her cakes turn out as magically delicious as this cake did, then I seriously need to fork over the cash to purchase it.

Dear sweet baby Jebus was this cake heavenly. No, orgasmic.. the kind of orgasmic that makes your eyes roll back in your head and your toes curl like the locks on lil Cindy Brady's head. Here's what happens when you take your first bite:

• Your throat will lock up because your mouth refuses to let go of the velvety, creamy, chocolatey goodness.


• Your eyes will roll so far back in your head, that you'll be taken for one of the Undead.


• The sweetest of shivers will slowly work it's way down your spine until it reaches your toes.. see above for what happens next.


• When your mouth finally allows your throat to swallow - you'll hear angels singing and harps playing.. the light will get a little brighter and the colors will get a lil more vivid.


• You'll lose all train of rational thought and will only be able to focus on the task of scooping up more deliciousness with your fork.


• Ohh.. and your dogs will look at you in what seemed to be confusion and fear with a lil nervous excitement thrown in.

This cake is to be made on special occasions.. if you want to W.O.W. your guests, this is a must serve. When you've had a bad week and nothing will make things better than velvety chocolate - you will make this cake. This is like no other flourless chocolate cake that I've ever experienced - and lemme tell ya - I've experienced quite a few FCC's before. When the cake is left out to come to room temperature it takes on a light texture.. like a dense chocolate silk pie - silky but not as heavy as your average flourless cake. When it's eaten straight out of the fridge it is fudge like - but not your ordinary fudge.. the creamiest, deepest, richest chocolately fudge you've ever had. (I know this because I had a room temp slice for LUNCH people - and then I had a straight outta the chiller slice during Grey's Anatomy - do NOT tell my doctor.)

Okay well.. seriously? How much more can I rant and rave about this cake? Copy this recipe and make it at your next earliest convenience. If you aren't having guests over any time soon, then either invite some or consider the dust bunnies under your bed as the guests of honor. If there is no special occasion comin' up - then make one up. Just make the cake and enjoy the eye rollin-spine shiverin-toe curling experience.

Holy Crap! I got so quivery over the pictures I included in this post that I fakkin' forgot to include the recipe! Special thanks to Mary - because I'm going to be way lazy and just copy from her post. heeee! :D

Chocolate Intensity
from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book

Makes one 9-inch cake

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 62% cocoa), finely chopped
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brewed coffee
6 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350º F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with a parchment round and butter the parchment. (If you're using a pan with a removable bottom like a springform, make sure to wrap the pan with 2 or 3 layers of foil.)

Place chopped chocolate in a large bowl.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir butter, sugar and coffee until the butter is melted and mixture is boiling. Pour the hot mixture over your chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously until blended. Whisk in the vanilla and salt. Slowly add about 3/4 cup hot chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly. (Tempering the eggs with a little bit of the hot chocolate mixture will prevent "scrambled eggs" when combining the two mixtures.) Add the egg mixture to the hot chocolate mixture and whisk to combine well.

Strain the batter through a sieve (to catch any cooked egg bits) and then pour batter into prepared pan. Set cake pan in a large roasting pan and fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the center is shiny and set but still a bit jiggly. Transfer cake pan to a cooling rack and cool for 20 minutes.

Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Place a cardboard round on top of the pan and invert the cake onto it. Remove pan and carefully remove the parchment paper. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours before glazing with chocolate glaze.

Bittersweet Ganache
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. Gently stir in the vanilla. Transfer glaze to a small bowl and cover the surface of the glaze with plastic wrap and let cool for 5 minutes at room temperature before using.

To glaze the cake:

Place the chilled cake, still on the cake round, on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Slowly pour the hot glaze onto the center of the cake. Smooth the glaze over the top and sides, letting the excess drip onto the baking sheet.

Scrape the extra glaze from the baking sheet and put it in a small ziploc bag. Seal the bag and cut a tiny hole in one of the bottom corners. Gently squeeze the bag over the top of the cake to drizzle the glaze in a decorative pattern. Refrigerate the cake at least one hour before serving.