Martha's Chocolate Cake

Actually I'm eating leftovers for dinner tonight, not cake.  Dave's got a dinner meeting and there is chicken left from last night as well as fresh tomatoes from the market, so that's my menu.  Not really worthy of a recipe, so I thought I'd share a bit of humility instead. 

There are days when you should just leave well enough alone.  We were having a friend for dinner the other night.  He is solo this summer as his family is in Europe and it happened to be his birthday, so I thought I should make him a cake.  I could have bought a couple of slices of his favorite Ganache cake, but nooooo, I wanted to actually bake something for him.  Like the superb dinner that I had planned wasn't enough. Trust me, he wouldn't have known the difference, in fact, he might have appreciated my buying his dessert. 

My dear friend Martha's chocolate cake seemed to be the perfect choice.  It is practically flourless, so similar to the Ganache cake our friend adored, and everyone raves about how delicious it is.  It seemed simple enough and my mom has made it countless times....what could go wrong?   I don't make a habit of baking.....  yeast and I don't get along, cookies are too fattening, I have no talent in icing a cake.  As far as I'm concerned, one of the best desserts is fresh berries and a scoop of really good ice cream, or... truffles.  I'm not the one volunteering to bring the dessert to the party.  I used to have a fruit tart that was my signature, but now I think it's waaay to much trouble. 

But, again, Martha's cake looked like a breeze and it really was, I just didn't bake it quite long enough.  When I removed it from the oven after the designated 20 minutes, it did have a pudding feel, and it crossed my mind to leave it in for another 5 minutes or so, but no, I was following directions and this must be right.  As it cooled, I noticed through the center cracks that it looked a bit moist, runny even.  I started to wonder just how I was going to "turn it out" onto the plate.....does it flip over, do I try to slide it onto the plate....what was going to happen to that soft center when I did manage to get it onto the plate?????  I called my mom, she couldn't remember if I should flip it or try to get it out right side up.  Martha wasn't home.  I was on my own.  So, I flipped it.  Turned out fine, but now I could see that it was really moist.....the powdered sugar topping would have to go on right before serving or it would turn to glue.  It looked pretty ridiculous under my nice glass cake dome.

But, not to worry, the powdered sugar made it look much better right before serving.  It was the fact that as soon as I cut the cake, the center started to ooze.  I managed to get Dave and Mark's pieces on their plates while they still looked like a slice of cake.  Mine, not so much....It was delicious, and I would highly recommend it to all of you bakers out there.  I have to admit I don't have a photo as I was trying to get the cake to the table before all hell broke loose.  You can have the recipe and please don't take my failure as the norm.....the cake is a winner in better hands.

Martha's Chocolate Cake, serves 4-6, Total time:  45 mins

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
4.5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, cut into 1" pieces
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tbsp cake and pastry flour
1 tbsp ground almonds
powdered sugar for dusting
creme fraiche or whipped cream for serving

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line the bottom of a 7-8" springform pan with parchment paper.  Butter the pan and paper , then dust with sugar, then flour. 

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, stirring occasionally.  Set aside.

Beat the sugar and the egg yolks until well mixed.  While the chocolate is still warm, stir it into the egg-sugar mixture.  Stir in the flour and ground almonds.

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and add to the chocolate mixture, folding in with a spatula, gently but quickly.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes.  Cake should be slightly soft and have a pudding feel to the touch.  Cool completely in the pan.  The center will sink.  To remove, run a knife carefully around the edge and release the sides of the springform pan.  Turn out onto a cake plate (I put the plate on top of the cake and flipped, then removed the bottom and the parchment paper).

To serve, dust with powdered sugar, cut into wedges and top with the creme fraiche or whipped cream.