03 November 2010

The Cake that I Lit on Fire

Dorie Greenspan tells a really great story about this cake in her book, Baking from My Home to Yours. I can't top it. She calls it "The Cake that Got Me Fired."



I didn't have any armagnac, so I ended up using brandy. I also didn't have prunes, so I just took those out. This means that I just lit the brandy on fire in a pan - which was easily the most exciting part of making this cake. The cake in itself was really spectacular - moist, dense, and chewy with the heavenly ganache topping it off just right. I preferred it refrigerated, so that the chocolate was even denser and seemed to melt in my mouth.



Chocolate Armagnac Cake (Modified for Wussies)
Makes about 12 servings

2/3 cup finely ground pecans (or walnuts)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup Armagnac (or cognac, brandy or Scotch whisky)
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch springform pan, fit the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment or wax paper and butter the paper. Dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk together the nuts, flour and salt. Preheat a pan on the stovetop for three minutes; remove the pan and pour in the Armagnac. Stand back and set it aflame.

Combine the chocolate, butter and water in a heatproof bowl, set it over a pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted; or do this in a microwave oven. Remove the chocolate from the heat just as soon as it is melted and not very hot—you don’t want the chocolate and butter to separate.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Switch to a rubber spatula and, one by one, stir in the chocolate and butter mixture as well as the nut mixture.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold firm, glossy peaks. Stir about one quarter of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture, and then gently fold in the remaining whites. Turn the batter into the pan.

Bake the cake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until it is puffed, firm on top and starting to come ever so slightly away from the sides of the pan; a thin knife inserted into the center will come out streaky—the cake should not be wet, but you don’t want it to be completely dry. Transfer the cake to a rack and let it cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully remove the sides of the pan. Invert the cake, pull off the paper and turn right side up to cool to room temperature. The cake should be absolutely cool before you glaze it.

If the cake has crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even the top. Turn the cake over onto a cooling rack—you want the very flat bottom of the cake to be the top. Put a piece of wax paper or foil under the cooling rack to serve as a drip catcher.

To make the glaze, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, or in a microwave oven. Remove it from the heat and, using a small spatula, stir in the sugar, then the butter, a bit at a time, stirring until you have a smooth glaze.

Have a long metal icing spatula at hand. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, allowing the excess to rundown the sides, and use the spatula to smooth the top of the cake if necessary—usually the glaze is a self-spreader—and to even it around the sides of the cake. Let the glaze set at room temperature or, if you want to speed it up, slide the cake into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. If you’d like the glaze to be more like a frosting, let it cool until it is thick enough to spread, then swirl it over the cake.

The cake can be served at room temperature or chilled; it is more flavorful at room temperature but intensely fudgy when chilled.

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