La Bete Noire Chocolate Flourless Cake

"This cake is very rich! The consistency is very similar to cheesecake. So yummy! From Bon Appetit Magazine."
 
Download
photo by Quest4ZBest photo by Quest4ZBest
photo by Quest4ZBest
photo by mindy4wedding photo by mindy4wedding
photo by mindy4wedding photo by mindy4wedding
photo by mindy4wedding photo by mindy4wedding
photo by Quest4ZBest photo by Quest4ZBest
Ready In:
3hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
8
Serves:
16
Advertisement

ingredients

Advertisement

directions

  • For Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F Butter 10 inch springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment round; butter parchment. Wrap 3 layers of heavy duty foil around outside of pan, bringing foil to top of rim. Combine water and sugar in saucepan. Bring to boil over medium hear, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk sugar syrup into chocolate; cool slightly. Add eggs to chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan.
  • Bake cake until center no longer moves when pan is gently shaken, about 50 minutes. Remove from water bath; transfer to rack. Cool completely in pan.
  • For Ganache:

  • Bring whipping cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cake still in pan. Gently shake pan to distribute ganache evenly over top of cake. Refrigerate cake in pan until ganache is set, about two hours.
  • Do Ahead: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.
  • Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake; release sides. Cut cake into wedges and serve with whipped cream.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. Made this for my son's b-day party. Dead-easy and YES, it would hold it's own against a flourless cake from any fine restaurant or bakery that I have ever had. Halved the recipe, added about 1/8 tsp instant espresso, put in an 8" springform inside a 9" x 13" baking dish, put in 325° oven for approx 40 mins & otherwise baked as instructed- turned out perfectly! Found about 1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries in freezer- pulsed up in food pricessor with about 1 tsp of Chambord, organic powdered sugar to taste (prob about 3/4 tsp) & enough warm water to achieve a thick coulis, strained & served drizzled over cake w/ slightly sweetened fresh organic whipped cream. The tartness of the coulis is a wonderful compliment to the cake, enhances flavor & balances richness well. BTW- used all semisweet chocolate for cake & 50/50 semisweet/ bittersweet for ganache. Make this for the chocolate lover in your life- they'll LOVE it!
     
  2. My sister and I used to purchase a lovely flourless chocolate cake at a local bakery every Christmas Eve for our special family Christmas dessert. Much to our dismay, they went out of business. In an attempt to recreate our much loved cake, we decided to have a little bake-off. We each chose five flourless chocolate cake recipes and got busy baking. With ten cakes in front of us, La Bete Noir was the winner hands-down. The cake is chocolate heaven and the quality is unsurpassed. If you adore chocolate decadence, you need look no further. By the way, the cake was every bit as good as the bakery cake and maybe a little bit better!
     
  3. This is restaurant quality, truely worthy of more than 5 stars. I've made this five times since it first appeared in Bon Appetit, and you can hear the groans of pleasure as people eat this! I like to serve it with a berry coulis ,recipe # 246371 on the side or with a little sweetened whipped cream. Thanks so much for posting this,Quest4ZBest, it's an incredible dessert!
     
  4. YUM!! This is the second year I've made this for my hubby's birthday. It is soooooo good, and surprisingly easy to make, too. I made it a couple of days early this time, and I would recommend letting it warm to room temperature before serving it. It was still delicious cold, but the silky smooth texture really comes out when its warmer. I only whipped about half a cup of cream for decorating it, but it was so rich, I definitely should have served it w/ more.
     
  5. Wow. This is serious chocolate. I used the 60% cacao from Ghirardelli. It was people versus cake, and the cake won. Everyone that tried it said it was "too chocolatey". Bah. There is no such thing as "too chocolatey." My DD (she's 3) and I practically licked our plates. At least I know the next time I make it, I won't have to share it with very many people. (giggle) Recipe was made as directed, and doesn't need any tweaking IMHO. Yumm. I'm going to go have another slice.
     
Advertisement

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I currently live in Arizona and although when I moved here I was sure I'd hate it - I absolutly love it here! My husband and I have owned our own business for almost 10 years and have a flexible schedule which I love! The most important thing to me right now is my family - I couldn't be happier to be a Mom! I don't want to miss out on a thing! I love to cook. I know it's nerdy, but I am a huge interest in food storage, canning, and emergency prepardness (don't make fun). Give me a wheat grinder and I'm in heaven! I also love photography, everything about the outdoors, sewing, playing cards, and playing with my girls. Pet peeve, by far, is when I am forced to waste time (traffic, waiting in line, etc.) I guess I'm just one impatient woman! <br />src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"&gt;</p>
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes