Chocolate Chipotle Almond Cake

YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH CHOCOLATE CAKE

flourless chocolate cake

and, of course, in my usual fashion...

espresso to deepen the flavors with

a smoky chipotle kick...even better

everyone loves chocolate cake and i seem to be obsessed at the moment so there will be quite a few coming your way.

RICH, DENSE, MOIST,

DEEP DARK CHOCOLATE

A TOUCH OF SMOKY SPICE

full fat, full sugar...INDULGE!

 GLUTEN FREE for the whole crowd to enjoy.

this cake is an easy one to make and there's no need for icing or frosting...the cake speaks for itself.   a great choice for a party.  i bet you could get at least 10-12 maybe even 14 good slices because it's a lot easier to slice and serve than the classic flourless cake.

i've made quite a few flourless cakes (a great recipe coming soon).  i love them, but i have always been disappointed with the presentation on the plate.  serving them is a mess.  chocolate all over the the knife, me, the table.  this one slices like a dream.  it's the almond meal that makes this cake very stable.  i was worried that it might make the texture a bit grainy or less "truffle-like", but it turned out smooth as silk.  i will definitely make this cake again.   

to the true chocolate aficionado, this would not be considered the "classic flourless chocolate cake" like "the Chocolate Valentino"...example shown HERE.  the aforementioned aficionado would not compare the two... 

BUT i guarantee....

THIS IS A GOOD CAKE !

CHOCOLATE CHIPOTLE ALMOND CAKE

recipe found at No Special Effects...original from River Cafe

i adapted in a few flavors and changed the temp and time.

180g (6.3z) 70% chocolate

180g (13 Tbsp) unsalted butter

200g (2 cups almond meal)

2 whole eggs, room temp.

6 egg yolks

4 egg whites

1 vanilla pod, split and scraped

200g (1 cup) caster sugar

15g (1 Tbsp) caster sugar

60g (11 Tbsp) dutch processed cocoa powder

1 tsp espresso powder

1/4 rounded tsp of ground chipotle powder...i could have used a little more

pinch of salt

preheat oven to 300F?...says all posts using River Cafe recipe...SEE MY NOTES AT BOTTOM

spray a 9" cake pan and line the bottom with parchment.  spray the parchment again.

break the chocolate into small pieces and cut the butter into cubes.  heat both in a double boiler just until melted and combined.  remove from heat and set aside to cool.

in a large bowl, beat the 2 whole eggs, 6 yolks and the 200g caster sugar until combined.  add the almond meal and the cocoa powder until combined.  scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod and add to the mixture....now add the melted chocolate mixture and stir until well combined.

in a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy.  add pinch of salt and beat until soft peaks...add 15g caster sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.

fold egg whites into chocolate/almond mixture doing this 1/3 whites at a time.  the chocolate mixture is stiff so just do this carefully and gently while keeping volume in the mixture as well as possible.

pour the combined batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes...???

WAIT...here are my notes...

IMPORTANT NOTE  about temperatures and time...the originals (this recipe is on a few sites) did not state convection so i used regular oven setting.....i knew in my mind there is no way a chocolate cake with 6 eggs is going to cook at 300 degrees in 25 minutes.

i found this out the hard way.

i started at 300F...at 25 minutes the cake was still batter.  i turned the oven up to 330F and baked it for an additional 22 minutes.

THAT'S 47 MINUTES TOTAL!

my cake came out perfect, so if you would like to follow what i did i would suggest doing the same and watching the cake.

OR...might i suggest using your own "baker knowledge" and again keep an eye on the cake.