Raspberry Chocolate Gateau (Photo: Kieran)

Katrina enjoys sending me recipes while we’re at work so we can get an idea of what we’re going to eat that week, and plan our grocery shopping accordingly.  One such recipe was a flour-less chocolate cake.  The idea of not using flour in a chocolate cake intrigued us, and we scoured the web in search of the best proportions to use.  Katrina put her French skills to great use, and we developed this Chocolate Gateau layered with a raspberry sauce, and encased with chocolate ganache and Ferrero Rocher chocolates.  It’s a wonderful dessert and would be the perfect base for a birthday cake.






I was really worried when this cake came out of the oven that it wasn’t going to be good.  It looked dry, the top was sinking in, and I remembered there was absolutely no flour in it.  If you follow this recipe and get to this same depressing stage…… have some faith!  The cake was absolutely moist and delicious.  It is much richer and denser than a regular cake, but nowhere near the consistency of fudge.  The raspberry flavor was subtle, but a soothing speck of light in a land of dark chocolate.  The Ferrero Rocher aids in cutting equal slices, and they’re something to fight over when eating.  Enjoy!


ingredients (8″ cake, 8-10 servings):

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  • For Cake
    • 5 to 6 oz. dark chocolate (we used Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips, guesstimate from package weight)
    • 1 c almond powder (we ground whole almonds in food processor)
    • 1/3 c brown sugar
    • 2/3 c butter (unsalted if you have it)
    • 4 eggs
    • 1/3 c milk
    • 2 tbs. clove honey
  • For Raspberry Sauce
    • 1 c raspberries
    • 1/4 c sugar
    • 3 tbs. cornstarch
    • 2 tbs. Chambord (raspberry liqueur)
  • For Chocolate Ganache (equal parts cream and chocolate)
    • 1/2 c heavy cream
    • 3 oz dark or semisweet chocolate
    • 1 package Ferrero Rocher as additional topping

directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325F.
  2. Separate egg yolks from egg whites and set aside for later.  Ensure egg whites reach room temperature before using.
  3. Place chocolate, sliced butter, brown sugar, and honey in a double boiler.  If you don’t have one, make one like we did using a large bowl over a pot of simmering water.  Make sure the bowl isn’t submerged in the water (and make sure it is heatproof).  Stir until contents have melted and have uniformly combined.  Remove from double boiler and set aside to cool.
  4. If you used a small bowl for your double boiler, transfer everything to a larger mixing bowl.  Stir in the egg yolks and almond powder, followed by the milk, until it is all incorporated.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  It will look like whipped cream.  Gently fold small portions of egg whites into batter until is uniformly distributed.
  6. Grease an 8-inch springform pan and fill with batter (lick the extras if you dare…mmmmm).  Bake approximately 38-45 minutes until a poke of the toothpick comes out clean.  Carefully remove from springform pan.  The top of the chocolate gateau tends to “sink in” a little bit during cooking, so I’d recommend turning the cake upside down before putting on your toppings.
  7. While the cake is baking, start to prepare your raspberry sauce.  If the raspberries are frozen, allow to thaw and add a few tablespoons of water.  Heat the non-alcoholic ingredients in a sauce pan until boiling and starting to thicken.  Remove from heat, strain out raspberries/seeds, cool, and then mix in the Chambord or other raspberry liqueur.
  8. Coat the top of the cake with the raspberry sauce.  If you are daring and have a long cake cutting utensil, cut the cake in half horizontally down the middle, add a layer of the raspberry sauce, and assemble the two halves back together.
  9. Prepare the chocolate ganache by heating the heavy cream until just boiling, removing from heat, and then slowly stirring in the chocolate chips.  Allow to cool to a temperature that is easy to handle and add to a pastry bag with large tip (or make one by cutting off a 1/4-inch corner from a plastic sandwich bag).  Coat the top and sides of the cake with an even layer.  Arrange the Ferrero Rocher chocolate around the perimeter, pour a glass of milk, and enjoy!


I hope you have as much fun making (and eating) this cake as Katrina and I did.  There are a lot of steps, so it helps to have a little teamwork in the kitchen.  We ended up with extra chocolate chips, so I made Katrina a chocolate chip heart in the middle.

Until next time!


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