Chocolate Death (Passover Chocolate Cake)

[abyssinia]

*waves* Hi. I just joined and thought I'd bring a treat. My family tried this for their Passover Sedar this year and loved it so much they pestered me over and over and over that I HAD to make it for my own Sedar. To say it was a hit is putting it mildly. It's a chocolate cake that lies somewhere in the no man's land between fudge and flourless chocolate cake.



"Too Good to be Called Passover Cake" from Better Homes and Gardens March 2009

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate, very coarsely chopped
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, very coarsely chopped [note: I just used all 12 oz unsweetened]
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup margarine or unsalted butter
5 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 inch round cake pan. Line bottom with round of parchment paper and butter the paper. [note: I used wax paper and spray oil rather than butter]

2. In a food processor combine chopped chocolates. Process until finely chopped.

3. In saucepan bring sugar and 1/2 cup water to boiling. Stir to dissolve sugar.

4. With food processor running, add boiling sugar syrup to chocolate through feed tube. Add margarine, 2 tablespoons at a time. Add eggs. Process only until smooth.

5. Pour chocolate mixture into prepared pan. Place pan in roasting pan on rack in center of oven. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out with just a few specks of chocolate clinging to it and cake begins to pull away from edges of pan. Transfer cake pan to a wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes.

6. Using a small sharp knife loosen cake from pan sides. Cover cake surface with plastic wrap and invert onto baking sheet. Lift off pan, remove parchment. Invert a cake plate over cake, turn plate and baking sheet so that cake is right side up. Remove plastic wrap. Serve warm or cold.


Makes 16 servings. [note: more like 20-24]

Comments

[stultiloquentia]

OMG, thank you! I am so surprising my Jewish roomie with this.

[abyssinia]

(check how strictly observant she is in terms of what kind of chocolate and butter you would need)

But that is awesome of you. It's YUMMY (but I'm not kidding about deadly - super rich)

[also I am LOVING your icon]

[stultiloquentia]

Oh, believe me, over the years I've heard ALL about what she can and cannot munch on. But it's nice of you to make sure I know.

Heh, I guess my icon is pretty appropriate for this comm. :) I'm entertained by the way Daniel's staring at it.

[abyssinia]

Hee :) Near as I can tell over the years, everyone I know follows the rules just a little bit differently. I end up asking all the time, so, yeah...I am unsurprised you've heard it a lot over the years.

Daniel is probably confused and trying to decide whether to call Sam over and ask what "primordial soup" means.
(the lab where my mom used to work actually sold cans with those labels at the gift shop. I've always coveted them)

[stultiloquentia]

the lab where my mom used to work actually sold cans with those labels

o.O WANT. LIEK WOAH.

I photoshopped my soup can after Dad and I cracked each other up reinventing that joke. He's got a printout on his lab door. But of course somebody went and made actual soup cans to sell. If you ever find them again, tell me. I would pay you to ship me one!

[abyssinia]

Hee.

Well, if you're ever around FermiLab the gift shop at their education center carried them once upon a time.

I bet the internet has them somewhere....

(and I can try to remember to look if I'm ever back there)

[boosette]

Do have any idea about the science that makes this turn into nommy cake instead of burnt sugar glop is? It reminds me of those flourless peanutbutter cookies I've seen around a few times now.

[abyssinia]

Food chemistry isn't my specialty but I'm guessing all the eggs and butter help A LOT. And the water you bake it in would help distribute the heat better and keep the oven environment very humid.

[sarisia.livejournal.com]

Any advice on adjustments if I happen to be without a food processor? :)

[abyssinia]

Hm. Well, you're biggest problem is going to be chopping the chocolate small. The rest can probably be accomplished with a heavy-duty whisk and a lot of elbow grease or a strong mixer (the batter gets very thick very quickly.

Two things that might work:
1) If you have one of those curved-blade things for chopping nuts, I imagine that would also chop chocolate. You want it to be something around the consistency of coarse sand.

2) A lot of recipes involving bricks of baking chocolate have you melt the chocolate with the butter. You could try that. Cut the chocolate into smaller chunks and but it with the butter and either microwave it slowly or melt it in a double boiler, then mix in the warm sugar solution and the eggs.

good luck! if you try one, let me know if it works!