I just love the fact that Victor likes to watch cooking shows while I’m at work on Saturday – Saturday dinner is always so much fun!
But before he started dinner, Victor made a flourless chocolate cake to bring up to his sister’s house tomorrow.
The recipe came from Tyler Florence and he’s made it before – the first time for my birthday last year. It is really good. Rich and decadent – just as a chocolate cake should be!
Flourless Chocolate Cake
- 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 9 large eggs, separated
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1/4 cup strong black coffee
- 2 cups heavy cream, cold
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1-inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs – this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate; then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture. Add the coffee and mix well.
Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.
Serve at room temperature dusted with confectioners’ and the whipped cream.
Dusted with powdered sugar and served with whipped cream, it will be the star of the show!
And speaking of shows, Rachael Ray made a really simple ricotta pasta dish that Victor decided he wanted to try tonight.
It could not have been easier. It came from her quick meals series. Cooked pasta mixed with ricotta. That’s pretty much it. Victor added maybe a tablespoon of sour cream to the cooked and drained pasta, stirred in a cup of ricotta and added some sundried tomatoes and shredded parmesan cheese. Oh – he first drizzled the cooked pasta with garlic-infused oil.
Damn, it was good!
And – we had breadsticks made from refrigerated pizza dough.
He also brushed them with the garlic-infused olive oil.
I love Saturday!