Ingredients
6 oz bittersweet chocolate (or semisweet, chocolate), cho
2 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped
1/3 cup freshly brewed espresso
1 cup unsalted butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
6 large eggs, separated, room temp.
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 powdered sugar
Directions
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 F. Butter
10-inch-diameter springform pan with 2-inch-high sides. Melt both
chocolates with coffee and butter in heavy medium saucepan over
medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Pour into large bowl. Cool.
Mix in vanilla extract. Using electric mixer, beat yolks with both
sugars in medium bowl until slowly dissolving ribbon forms when
beaters are lifted. Fold yolk mixture into chocolate mixture. Fold in
flour. Using electric mixer fitted with clean, dry beaters, beat
whites in another large bowl until almost stiff. Fold 1/4 of whites
into chocolate mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites.
Gently pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted
in center comes out with moist crumbs still attached, about 45
minutes. Transfer to rack and cool (cake will fall). (Can be prepared
1 day ahead. Cover cake in pan with plastic wrap and let stand at
room temperature.) Run small knife around cake pan sides to loosen if
necessary. Release pan sides of cake. Invert cake onto plate. Place
stencil or doily atop cake. Sift powdered sugar over. Remove stencil
from cake and serve.
Servings: 12 servings
Chocolate Decadence Cake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Chocolate; Chocolate Cake; Dessert
The History of Recipes
Food historians have traced the existance of recipes way back into history, in truth as far back as pharonic Egypt, and maybe further still. Interesting though that maybe, generally, these old cook books were just primitive pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
Interestingly, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a collection of stone tablets in ancient Sumerian which recount the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel blissful. Later on, in Roman times 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a collection of scripts which described recipes cooked by his fellow Romans. In his scrolls, he describes how the roman meals were split into hors d`oeuvre, entrees and dessert, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius also describes how the Romans were skilled in the use of many spices, including some familiar names such as thyme, mint and parsley. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years there were two books which were published in the 14th Century ; one book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these are nothing to do with the indian food that appears on menues today, but instead recipes for the types of meals eaten by the nobility of those days. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought back many new foods and spices from the holy lands, including rosemary and coriander. These new spices and herbs prompted a surge in recipe publications, some of which are now in private libraries. Like it or not, the introduction of television brings us celebrity TV chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which pretty much brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting everyone to access massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on this recipe site. |
We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Decadence Cake recipe.
