Eve's Chocolate Cake


I turned 26 today, and I've been lamenting to friends how old I feel.
In the past year, I sometimes forgot I was even 25 because no one asks me my age, they just ask for my ID. Although I did go to the mall recently, and some cops had to verify my age because teenagers aren't allowed to wander the mall during school hours...so there's that.

I've been reading random posts from people on turning 30 and how it feels so much better than the 20s. I'm very content though, and I think upper 20s is close enough for me. I guess once I'm married with kids, I'll truly feel a different kind of maturity and stability. For now, being a doggie mom and having a very silly boyfriend who makes me laugh all the time is more than enough. Add to that, a job where I get to work on my favorite hobby all day long and life is pretty awesome.

It's easy for me to whine about things, and this past week, I waxed nostalgic far too much about past birthdays with childhood friends and my family who are now all too busy to come play with me. But the more I think about it, I realize how lucky I am to have new friends here and have my childhood friends (and family) be happy, healthy and following their goals. I love and miss them all, but everyone's gotta do what they've gotta do.




And so, I debated what to make for my birthday this year.
I love a good cake and I'm a firm believer in birthday cake. I've had many memorable cakes over the years from fancy bakeries in India to my mother's simple but delicious creations (if I ever dig up photos, I shall share).

Then someone blogged about a waffle cake, and it made me smile because not two weeks ago, I googled 'waffle cake' and was surprised that no one had made one yet. I even considered making one for my birthday, but she beat me to it.

So what else could I make? I considered not making cake (in any form) at all for my birthday but then, that's a bit extreme. Let's be real here. If I can't have a party like my younger years, and my close friends and family can't make it, and if my boyfriend is going to be working all day, then damn it, I deserve some fabulous birthday cake.

This isn't your typical frosted and layered birthday dessert. I already made a 3-layer buttermilk cake with peaches, raspberries, and blueberries, slathered with brown sugar cream cheese frosting for July 4th celebrations. I tried taking pictures but the frosting was soft and the cake was doing too much of a lean and we were late to the party so I zipped over there where it promptly got devoured. It was this cake made with this frosting (I tripled the cake recipe, adding peaches to one pan, raspberries to another, and blueberries to the third, and doubled the frosting recipe).


I'd already had my fill of a lemon-y fruity cake so I decided to go the opposite route.
What's the opposite? A chocolate-y chocolate cake.

This cake sounded awesome, and I've had it bookmarked for what feels like forever.
I'll admit, what was holding me back was the fact that it uses a dozen eggs. A dozen. 
But there's not much butter or sugar in it. It's pretty much like a chocolate omelet. I figured this was a good occasion to bite the bullet and use a dozen eggs for this. And it definitely wasn't a waste.

It's only FOUR ingredients and you reserve part of the batter to spread on top after baking. And it's amazing.

I was worried it would be too bitter/rich since I don't like extremely dark chocolate but once it baked up, it was the perfect flavor. I also opted for using semi-sweet chocolate shavings instead of bittersweet. And yeah, I went the extra mile and got Callebaut. If you're going to make something with one ingredient in abundance over the rest, it's best to get the good stuff. 
Also, chocolate shavings are fun and delicious. Fact.





This cake was scrumptious on its own but I ate it with some mint chocolate chip gelato (Talenti is my absolute favorite). It definitely doesn't need any additions unless pure chocolate isn't your thang. 

If you want it light and fluffy, I would eat it the same day it's made. 
Over time, it gets slightly denser (as dense as something with 12 eggs can get), perfect with some berries and/or cream. 

You can also skip the raw batter idea if you're worried about salmonella, but I risked it anyway. Because I do that. 

Enjoy!

Note: This cake was named after a friend of a famous Australian chef--Damien Pignolet--who gave him the recipe in exchange for one of his.

Eve's Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Citrus and Candy, originally from here
Makes one 10-inch cake

360 grams bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
12 eggs, separated
50 grams butter
40 grams granulated sugar

Chocolate shavings and cocoa powder for decoration

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Spray a 10-inch springform pan well.
Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler.
Beat the egg yolks and half of the sugar on high until pale and ribbon-y.
Fold in the chocolate/butter mixture and beat well until combined.
Use an electric beater to whip the egg whites until foamy.
Add in the rest of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks.
Fold the egg whites into the chocolate/yolk mixture in small amounts until fully incorporated.
Pour most of the mixture into the pan, leaving about 1/4 or 1/3 batter to put away in the fridge.
Bake for 30 minutes or until you press your finger in the center and it leaves an indentation (mine was crusty and broke when I pressed my finger to it...not sure if I over-baked it but it still turned out great)
Once removed from the oven, immediately overturn on a serving plate and remove the spring form.
Let cool completely (it might sink, that's ok).
And then spread the reserved batter over the top and add chocolate shavings (all different grade of chocolate, like white, milk and dark might be a nice touch).
Sift cocoa powder over the top for pleasing aesthetics.

Slice and serve either at room temperature or chilled.

Here's a blog post from someone who included step-by-step photos--thanks, Food for Torte!

Comments

  1. a birthday is definitely worthy of a dozen-egg cake! looks fantastic--happy bday! :)

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  2. i am also a firm believer in birthday cake; this looks amazing! And who cares about the dozen eggs in there? I wouldn't worry about that at all...it's a birthday. Besides, i've probably thrown a dozen eggs in non-birthday cakes also, so it's perfectly acceptable. happy birthday (belated!) :)

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  3. @Shannon, Thank you! Since I'm making macarons so often I always think, eggs = macarons and I'm hesitant to use other egg-heavy recipes, but I'm quickly getting over it!

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