Decadent, Flourless Chocolate Cake

We are coming up on Valentine's Day, so I figured I'd post about something rich, and chocolatey! Whether you're already taken, dating, wanting to impress someone you have your eye on, or single like me, this melt-in-your-mouth dessert is sure to please.

I don't even know if I have the words to describe this properly. It's love. It's silky, smooth, the espresso powder enhances the depth of the chocolate and makes it sing! I used raspberries to add a little bit of a tart bite to balance out the intense chocolate flavor. It's a match made in heaven!

For whatever reason, I had it in my mind that a flourless chocolate cake would be difficult to make, would be fussy and fall apart. Guys, it was super easy! No double boilers or special pans needed. Just a cake pan, beaters, microwave and oven. After perusing a bunch of different recipes, I decided to use King Arthur's Baking recipe.

With that being said, let's make this amazing chocolate confection, shall we?!

Ingredients:

2 C chocolate chips (semisweet, divided)

1/2 C heavy cream

1 stick butter (I use salted, but you can use unsalted)

3/4 C white sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp espresso powder

1 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs

1/2 C dutch process cocoa powder (I used Ghiradelli brand)

** you can use any unsweetened cocoa powder, but dutch process will

create a richer, deeper chocolate flavor**

How To:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Grease an 8 inch cake pan bottom and sides. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.

3. Melt 1 C chocolate chips with 1 stick of butter in the microwave, about 20 seconds at a time. Stir in between. Keep melting and stirring in 20 second intervals until butter and chocolate are melted together into a smooth, glossy consistency.

4. In a mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, salt, espresso powder, vanilla, eggs and cocoa. Once combined, add in the melted butter/chocolate mixture.

5. Beat together until you get a smooth batter, and pour into your prepared cake pan.

6. Bake for 25 minutes. You can use a thermometer to make sure it is fully cooked. The center should be about 200 degrees when finished.

7. Once out of the oven, let cool for about 5 minutes. Run the edge of a butter knife or offset spatula around the edges to loosen the sides of the cake from the pan.

8. Turn cake upside down onto a plate to release cake from pan. Since the bottom of the cake is nice and flat, I use that as the top of the cake instead of flipping it over.

9. For the ganache topping, heat the heavy cream in the microwave for about a minute and a half. You want the cream very warm, but not boiling or simmering. If it's too hot, it will scald the chocolate and you'll get a clumpy mess.

10. Pour warm heavy cream over 1 C chocolate chips and stir. Let sit for a couple of minutes to slowly melt the chocolate, and continue stirring until all the chocolate is melted.

11. Once cake is cooled, pour ganache over cake and spread over the top and sides. Add raspberries and a sprinkle of powder sugar if you want!

Mangia Bene!!!