Flourless Chocolate cake and Two Rustic Galettes

This past week Toby and I were invited over to one of our friends houses for dinner. I was in charge of bringing dessert, and brought them this flourless chocolate cake. It was devine. Rich, but not too dense. Moist, but not too gooey. And it is even more perfect paired with some bluebell homemade vanilla ice cream... I was in pure chocolate bliss.

I have been dying to make a flourless chocolate cake for months, but never could get myself to find the right occasion to do it. I am so glad I finally tried it because it was seriously so easy to make, and the results were stunning. Visually, it is a really beautiful and simple dessert (there are no pictures besides the one right out of the oven because i forgot my camera, and there was nothing left to snap later). When it comes out of he oven it is puffed and slightly cracked, but as it cools it falls and creates dramatic chocolate crevasse's. Beautiful!

I adapted this recipe from amandeleine blog, and it is a really good recipe. Also, there are some pictures below of a pear and vanilla galette, as well as a peach and cinnamon galette my mom made this week for some dinner guests we had at the house. She is an amazing baker! (that is where I learned my baking skills from). She used a recipe from Tyler Florence, and they were incredible! The dough has some lemon accents, and the filling is barely sweetened which is just how I like it! As you can see, it has been a week of amazing desserts around here! Next week I promise a healthier post!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

One thing to note here is use good chocolate. I used some really great bittersweet chocolate that gave this it's incredible richness. If rich is not your thing, you can always use a mix of bittersweet and semi-sweet. 

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs, yolks and whites separated into two bowls

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep a 9 inch springform pan so that a large sheet of parchment paper hangs over the bottom of the pan, latched in place by the pan ring (see photo above). Grease pan sides and parchment.

Chop chocolate into small chunks, and place in a heatproof bowl. Add the butter, and melt over a pot of simmering water (a double boiler), making sure the water does not hit the bowl. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat, whisk in sugar until combined. Add egg yolks, one at a time, whisking continuously.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites on high with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour. The cake will rise in the oven and fall drastically as it cools. This is just what you want!

Let cool at room temperature for 1-2 hours. (I pulled mine out of the oven as we walked out the door and we ate it while it was still warm with some vanilla ice cream. Heaven!