Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake

How do you take the idea of a kid’s sticky chocolate birthday cake and turn it into something appropriate for a classy lady turning 30?

Well I went straight to her and asked. And apparently she’s a genius.

She told me to make it flourless. And give it a little spice.

Genius, I tell you.

I’d make some crack about getting wiser with age, but I don’t think she’d appreciate that much.

To bring it back to the “Birthday Cake” field, I attempted to make a stencil for the powdered sugar since I’m not about to pipe buttercream on a flourless chocolate cake.

There was a factor I didn’t think of though. The extreme uneveness of the top of a flourless chocolate cake with whipped egg whites meant that I couldn’t place my “stencil” directly on top of the cake. I had to hover it over the cake.

And thus, the message came out a little… squidgey looking.

But no matter, the birthday girl loved the cake (as did I), and in the end, no amount of weird looking powdered sugar letters would stop it from being a rich, chocolate cake that tickled you in the back of the throat with a touch of spice.

Spicy chocolate, people. Do it.

Happy Birthday [yesterday] Erin! You’re the awesomest!

Adapted from a Recipe by Garrett McCord

Ingredients

• 10 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 7 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 5 large eggs, room temperature, separated
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of salt
• Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prep a 9 inch springform pan such that a large sheet of parchment paper hangs over the bottom of the pan, latched in place by the pan ring. (see photo for what this means.) Grease pan sides and parchment.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whip egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until they have begun to thicken and are foamy. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the sugar to the whites while they are whipping, until they form in to stiff peaks. Set aside.
4. Whisk together egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed. Fold in egg whites gently.
5. Pour batter into the springform pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar and serve. With the spiciness and the chocolate, this cake goes great with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

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