Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake

I started making this when I fell in love with Whole Foods' mousse cake and needed a good flourless cake recipe to keep from going broke. It's a great option for any chocolatey occasion. Be aware that it's a very short cake, less than two inches high when done, so you may need to dress it up on a pedestal or other special plate. The recipe includes reserving 1/3 of the batter and using it as icing, so we always use pasteurized eggs.

Ingredients:
11 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 3/4 sticks of unsalted butter (mmmm butter!)
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
11 large egg yolks
1 T brandy or rum
8 large egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
cocoa powder for dusting
9 inch spring form

Directions:
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter together. Move to a large bowl to cool. Butter the pan and dust with the cocoa.

Beat yolks in different bowl until cream colored, then add 1 and 1/3 cups of the sugar (not all the sugar, some mixes with the egg whites) a little at a time beating the entire time until the mix comes off the beater in ribbons.

In yet another bowl, beat whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks, then add remaining sugar a bit at a time while beating untill stiff and glossy. Add the brandy and beat once more.

Stir 1/3 of yolk mix in with the chocolate. Fold in the rest (folding is important to keep it airy). Do the same thing with the mirage, mix 1/3 and fold rest.

Spoon 2/3 of the entire mixture into the springform pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350. It will look as if it's not done, but take it out anyway. If you panic and leave it in longer, you MUST take it out at 30 minutes, or it will be dry.

Leave the other 1/3 of the mix room temp because you'll use it to ice the cake.

Let the cake cool, take off pan, level the cake and ice the cake with the remaining 1/3 of the mix. Dust with cocoa if you wish. Refrigerate. Bring to room temp before serving if you wish; I prefer it cold.

Source: My friend Anique's mom found it in a magazine: Gourmet? Epicurious? No one is sure, but she's used it for years.
Servings: 4 (gourmand) - 16 (gourmet)