Flourless Chocolate Cake, the magical mixture of eggs and sugar...

I love the mixture of eggs, sugar and butter and I am totally crazy when I add chocolate to this mixture. This is the queen of all mixtures, good raw, perfect baked, try it as you wish. Whether as a fresh mousse or a flour less and dense chocolate cake.

I played with this mixture yesterday as I was looking for something to cover the passion fruit panna cotta I had made. Panna cottas are usually served with fruit coulis or sauces but after last week's tangerine mousse I got a little tired of mousse with fruit coulis, specially when the passion fruit has that sweet and mild flavor.



So, instead of a fruit coulis I made a chocolate mousse with my magical mixture to cover the passion fruit panna cotta what made a beautiful verrine, how the French call the desserts served in a glass.

The chocolate mousse is nothing but eggs, butter, sugar and dark chocolate with at least 52% cocoa solids. In eggs based mousse the textures are results of yolks and whites properly beaten so they can give both the mousse and the cake the airy and velvety texture I love.

To demonstrate the versatility of this simple mixture and divided it. Part of it was layed as mousse over the passion fruit panna cotta and the other half was baked as a flour less cake and served with a good spoonful of plain yogurt flavored with some drops of vanilla extract.



Chocolate Mousse and Flour less chocolate cake

5 large eggs at room temperature and separated
5 table spoons of sugar
200 semi sweet chocolate with at least 57% cocoa solidas (I used 60%)
150 grams of unsalted butter

Butter a small squared pan, lay with parchment paper and butter the paper.

In a double boiler over medium heat melt chocolate and butter whisking it to help it melt without over cooking the mixture. Set aside.

In a clean pot beat egg whites until medium peaks. Don't let the egg whites form hard peaks as they can produce a drier cake.

In a large clean pot beat egg yolks with sugar until fluffy and light. Add chocolate mixture to yolk mixture whisking well to incorporate. Add egg whites to the mixture and use a spatula or wooden spoon to incorporate the whites to the mixture. Don't over mix so you don't remove all the air in the mixture.

Add 3 table spoons of the mixture to the glasses with passion fruit panna cottas and refrigerate.

Transfer the other half of the mixture to the prepared pan and bake it for 20 minutes at 180C/325F.

Let the cake cool and decorate it with the chocolate icing. Cut small squares of cake and serve with plain yogurt flavored with drops of vanilla extract.




Chocolate icing

50 grams of semisweet chocolate with 60% cocoa solids
1 table spoon of butter

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler whisking the mixture to incorporate. Let it cool and use it to decorate the cake before serving.


(The flour less chocolate cake is dense and velvety and I like to bake it in a larger pan so I can get a very thin cake that I cut in small squares).




Passion Panna cotta

300 ml light or heavy cream
100 ml milk
100 grams sugar
2 teaspoons flavor less gelatin powder
1/2 cup pure fresh passion fruit juice

Sprinkle gelatin powder over passion fruit juice and let gelatin melt. Cook cream, milk and sugar and to a boil. Remove from heat and add passion fruit-gelatin mixture to cream mixture whisking all the time. Take mixture back to low heat whisking to dissolve gelatin. When mixture start to boil remove from heat and let it cool for 15 minutes whisking the mixture every 5 minutes. With the mixture fill half of six small glasses, cups or ramekins and refrigerate.

Makes 6 half glasses. Cover with spoons of chocolate mousse and serve with chocolate shavings.


(The perfect pair for the dense velvety chocolate cake is a spoonful of plain yogurt).