Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Cake

     For a chocolate lover, this cake is the end of the search for the perfect chocolate desert.  God made this cake so we could know what paradise will be like after we die.  This is a French style cake and contains no flour. It is more like a dense pudding than a cake, but it slices and serves like a cake.  Make this cake a day in advance because it needs to cool down and be chilled for at least 8 hours.   This recipe is from Cooks Illustrated Nov/Dec 2002.  I do not use the egg yolks as called for in this recipe because it makes the cake much lighter without it.

    Making the cake is very simple, melt the chocolate, whip the eggs, combine and cook.

    Ingredients

• 12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 12 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 8 eggs 
• 1/8 teaspoons salt
•  2/3 cups light brown sugar

    Prepare:

• Turn oven to 325 degrees
• Get large roast pan out for the water bath
• Butter and flour spring form pan, use parchment or wax circle at the bottom
• Line the outside of the spring form pan in foil to keep water out of the pan during cooking
• Separate 8 eggs
• Put large sauce pan on the stove and heat water for melting chocolate,  I use a large pot and put a metal bowl on top to act as a double boiler.  

    Melt - in a large bowl over large sauce pan filled with water (use this water to fill roast pan for water bath)

• 12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips - Use Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips
• 1 oz unsweetened chocolate - chopped up - I use Baker's 
• 12 Tablespoons butter - recipe calls for unsalted - I just use the regular version   

         Add in to slightly cooled chocolate mixture - 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

    Mix - beat in a mixer, until frothy

• 8 egg whites
• 1/8 teaspoons salt

       Add sugar to the mixed egg whites,  and whip until soft peaks are formed.

• 2/3 cups light brown sugar 

     Combine

• 1/3 of beaten egg mixture to chocolate mixture then fold in the remaining egg mixture

Scrape the batter into the spring form pan, place spring form pan in roast pan,  pour hot water into the roast pan.  Cook for 45 to 55 minutes until center reaches 170 degrees ( I have cooked this cake several times and this does not really work.  I usually cook the cake to 170 degrees, turn off the oven and then leave the cake in the oven until the oven cools. )  Remove the cake from the pan, and chill for 8 hours before serving.  It is fantastic alone or with a little bit of powdered sugar on top to hide irregularities.

  I make a whipped topping for this cake, much like the topping used for Tiramisu.  Whip up 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form, add in 1/2 cup of sugar and whip, then add in 1 pound of marscarpone  cheese.