Chocolate Decadence Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan and line bottom with a round of wax paper. Butter paper and dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.
• Make batter:
• Melt chocolate and butter in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, whisking until smooth.
• Cool slightly.
• Beat together eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until pale yellow, thick, and a ribbon forms when beaters are lifted, about 4 minutes with a standing mixer or 8 minutes with a handheld. Fold one fourth of egg mixture into chocolate mixture to lighten, then gently fold in remaining egg mixture.
• Pour batter into cake pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Put cake pan in a hot water bath and place in middle of oven. Bake 45 minutes (top will be set, but a tester will not come out clean).
• Remove cake from water bath and cool completely in pan on a rack. Run a thin knife around edge of cake and chill, covered, at least 4 hours and up to 12.
• Make sauce:
• Purée raspberries with sugar in a food processor or blender, then force through a fine sieve into a bowl. Chill until ready to serve.
• Remove cake from pan:
• Put cake pan directly on a burner at very low heat. Move pan around on burner to warm bottom, about 30 seconds, then shake pan to loosen cake. Invert cake onto a rack. Remove wax paper and invert cake onto a serving plate.
• Bring cake to room temperature. Serve with sauce and whipped cream.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Lightly coat 4 (2-ounce) ramekins with cooking spray, and sprinkle 3/4 teaspoon sugar into each of the ramekins, shaking and turning to coat. Set prepared ramekins aside.
• Combine 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, milk, and cocoa in a small saucepan, stirring well with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 30 seconds or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add the butter and 1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate. Stir until the chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Cool chocolate mixture 10 minutes.
• Add flour, vanilla, salt, and egg white to chocolate mixture, stirring with a whisk just until blended. Spoon 2 tablespoons chocolate mixture into each prepared ramekin, and top each with 2 teaspoons chocolate chips. Divide the remaining chocolate mixture evenly among ramekins, spreading to cover the chocolate chips. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until barely set. Cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto dessert plates. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan.
• Melt semisweet chocolate and unsalted butter together in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, until chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Remove from heat.
• Beat eggs and sugar together in a bowl with a whisk or an electric mixer until pale and very thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Sift in flour, cayenne, and salt; whisk to combine.
• Pour 1/4 of the egg mixture into chocolate mixture; stir to combine. Pour chocolate mixture into remaining egg mixture and stir until cake batter is combined. Pour batter into prepared cake pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until just barely set, with a jiggle below the surface, 14 to 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature, wrap in aluminum foil, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Butter six ramekins or custard cups. Melt chocolate and butter slowly: You can do this in a double boiler, over, not in, simmering water, or in microwave, stirring to prevent scorching. Stir until completely smooth.
• In a medium bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer until frothy, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir vanilla and salt gently into beaten eggs. Fold half of egg mixture into chocolate mixture, mix well. Then fold remainder of egg mixture into chocolate mixture. Pour chocolate and egg mixture into prepared ramekins.
• Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place ramekins on towel, inside roasting pan. Butter a piece of foil big enough to cover entire pan, and cover the ramekins, buttered side down. Place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake 5 minutes, then remove foil and bake 10 minutes more. Remove ramekins from water carefully. Let cool on wire rack for at least 3 hours. Cakes will firm up as they cool. Unmold each room-temperature ramekin onto a dessert plate, garnish and serve. Refrigerate unused portions.

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line pan bottoms with waxed paper. Using vegetable peeler, remove peel from oranges in strips. Coarsely chop peel in processor, stopping occasionally to scrap down sides of bowl. Add 1/3 cup sugar and blend until peel is minced. Add marmalade and puree. Using electric mixer, cream butter with pureed mixture and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in remaining 1 cup sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift dry ingredients into small bowl. Mix dry ingredients into batter alternately with orange juice.
• Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tops are golden brown and tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 38 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Run sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool. Peel off paper.
• For the chocolate ganache:
• Bring cream and butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Add chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Mix in remaining ingredients. Pour ganache into large bowl. Freeze until very thick but still spreadable, stirring frequently, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• For glaze:
• Melt marmalade in heavy small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Mix in Grand Marnier.
• Cut each cake into 2 layers. Place 1 layer on plate. Brush with 1/4 of glaze. Spread 1 cup ganache over. Top with second cake layer. Brush with 1/4 of glaze. Spread 3/4 cup ganache over. Top with 1 1/2 baskets berries (about 2 1/2 cups). Spread 1/2 cup ganache over third cake layer. Invert, chocolate side down, over berries. Brush with 1/4 of glaze. Spread 1 cup ganache over. Top with fourth cake layer. Brush with remaining glaze. Spread 3/4 cup ganache over top of cake. Spoon 1 cup ganache into pastry bag fitted with medium star top. Spread remaining ganache over sides of cake, drawing icing spatula up to create vertical lines. Pipe decorative border of ganache around top and bottom edges of cake. Freeze cake 20 minutes. Arrange remaining berries atop cake, covering completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)
• Garnish cake with mint sprigs. Serve cake at room temperature.

Steps:

• Cut circle of parchment paper to fit 8-inch round cake pan.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Combine chocolate and butter in top of double boiler.
• Set over gently simmering water and stir until melted and smooth.
• Remove from heat.
• Transfer to bowl and set aside.
• Wipe out top of double boiler (you'll be using it again).
• Combine eggs and sugar in top of double boiler.
• Set over gently simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture darkens and is barely warm to the touch.
• Remove from heat.
• Beat at high speed with electric mixer until eggs have tripled in volume and are consistency of lightly whipped cream, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Gently fold in flour.
• Carefully stir 1/3 of egg mixture into chocolate to loosen, then fold chocolate into remaining egg mixture until thoroughly combined.
• Turn into prepared pan.
• Bake until cake is soft in center but crusty on top, about 15 minutes.
• Let cool completely in pan, then freeze overnight.
• (Cake can be kept in freezer up to one month before serving.) About 1 hour before serving, whip cream with confectioners' sugar and vanilla until stiff.
• Invert cake onto serving platter.
• (Spinning pan briefly over high heat will help loosen cake from pan.) Spread 2/3 of whipped cream over top.
• Mound chocolate curls in center.
• Pipe rosettes around edge of cake using remaining whipped cream.
• Refrigerate until about 15 minutes before serving.
• Pass raspberry puree separately.