"The late Richard Sax, celebrated cookbook author and champion of home cooks the world over, inspired this flourless chocolate cake--a riff on his iconic chocolate cloud cake." So sayeth Bon Appetit magazine in introducing this recipe which describes something I've never seen before, a souffle-like cake in which the center is intended to to cave in creating a basin which, after the cake cools, is filled with a whipped, sweetened mascarpone cream. I may never make it myself, but it sounds so cool I just had to post.
FALLEN CHOCOLATE CAKE
1/2 c. unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces, plus more, room temperature for the pan
3/4 c. plus 2 tblsp sugar, divided, plus more for the pan
10 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (61-72% cacao), coarsely chopped
2 tblsp vegetable oil
6 large eggs
2 tblsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp kosher salt
topping:
1 c chilled heavy cream
1/2 c mascarpone
3 tblsp powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter 9 inch springform pan and sdust with sugar, tapping out any excess.
Combine chocolate, oil, and 1/2 c butter in a large heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan of simmering water and heat, stirring often, until melted. Remove bowl from saucepan.
Separate four eggs, placing whites and yolks in separate medium bowls. Add cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, 1/4 c sugar and remaining 2 whole eggs to the bowl with the yolks and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Gradually whisk yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture, blending well.
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until frothy. With mixer running, gradually beat in 1/2 c sugar, beat until firm peaks form.
Gentle fold egg shies into chocolate mixture in two additions, folding just until incorporated between additions. Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth top and sprinkle with remaining two tblsp sugar.
Bake until top is puffed and starting to crack and cake is pulling away from the edge of the pan, 35-45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool completely in the pan (cake will collapse in the center and crack as it cools).
For the topping, use an electric mixer on medium high speed to beat cream, mascarpone and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Remove the cake from the springform pan and move to serving platter, then fill cake with cream mixture.