Sunken Chocolate Cake with Ganache.

When searching for an "anniversary" cake to make for my inlaws I came across several "flourless cakes and sunken cakes." They all looked good and sounded even better. Since I am not a big fan of traditional cake, these recipes seemed suitable my liking as they appeared to be dense and more brownie-like than cake.

I decided to to with Julie's Recipe for the cake. I had no plans to make her fool as I am one of those people who do not enjoy the combination of chocolate/fruit. I figured I would use cool whip as it is light and not as calorie-ridden as fresh whipped cream would be. However, I had an inquiry from the recipient if her chocolate cake had that "g frosting" I used for Gary's brownie ice cream cupcake...so rather than the cool whip I topped my sunken chocolate cake with ganache.

I had a small sliver of cake. Perfect for a chocolate lover! It was rich and dense and smooth. Almost like a cheesecake, but not at all the same flavor as a cheesecake.

Sunken Chocolate Cake

(adapted from Dinner with Julie)

1 heaping cup of semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 large eggs
1 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9″ springform pan with a circle of parchment.

Melt the chocolate with the butter. Separate 4 of the eggs, placing in two seperate bowls. Add the remaining eggs and half of the sugar to the egg yolks. Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture until smooth.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, beating until the egg whites form soft mounds. Fold about one-quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, and then gently fold in the rest, without deflating the egg whites. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is puffy and cracked on top, and the middle isn’t wobbly. Cool the cake completely in the pan without loosening the sides; the batter needs to cling to the sides of the pan as it cools so that it can properly sink in the middle and keep its high edges.

Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, remove the sides of the pan and transfer it to a serving plate, leaving the cake on the pan bottom. Serves about 12.

Ganache

1 cup whipping cream

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Bring whipping cream just to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate. Let stand 5 minutes and stir until smooth. Cook for 15 minutes and soon over cake.