285 grams (10 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
1/2 cup (115 grams) butter, cut into 8 pieces
6 large eggs, separated at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon creme de cacao, kahlua or dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, well chilled
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
How to make Cardinal Sin Chocolate Cake:
Place rach in the lower third of oven; preheat oven to 375 deg
Faranheit. Butter and flour a 9-inch spring form pan.
In double boiler top over simmering water, melt chocolate with
butter. Keep chocolate warm over a pan of warm water.
In a large bowl of mixer, beat egg yolks at high speed. Gradually
add 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar, beating until mixture is pale
yellow ang thick, 4-6 minutes. Add chocolate mixture to yolk mixture;
beat until completely smooth.
Add creme de cacao and vanilla; beat until blended. In a medium
bowl of mixer, beat egg whites at high speed until soft peaks form.
Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff but not
dry peaks form.
Fold egg whites gently but thouroughly into chocolate mixture.
Pour evenly into reserved pan; smooth top.
Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 def Farenheit and
bake another 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 deg Farenheit
and bake 30 minutes longer. (Total baking time is 1 hour.) Turn
oven off; leave cake inside with oven door propped open for 30 minutes.
Remove cake from oven and cover with damp paper towel; let stand
for 5 minutes.
Remove towel and let cake cool completely. Dome of cake will crack
and collapse; this is normal. Press top down lightly to smoothen.
Remove springform pan and transfer cake to serving platter.
In chilled bowl of mixer, whip cream on high speed until soft peaks
form. Gradually add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the powdered sugar, beating
until stiff peaks form.
Just before serving, dust top of cake with remaining powdered sugar.
Serve cake at room temperature with whipped cream.