A Breakthrough

Baked this Classic Chocolate Cake or Chocolate Torte, upon my elder boy's request. I owned him this for a long time already, he has since requested for a chocolate cake ever since he watched Spiderman 2. There was a scene in the movie where Spidy's girl-next-door baked him a chocolate cake and he told me right after the show that he would love to eat that kind of cake. The only problem is, I didn't watch the movie with them when it was shown on TV. So, I have no idea what kind of cake it was...it didn't help when my boy just told me it's a plain chocolate cake. Somehow, back in my mind, I formed the impression that it wouldn't be a simple chocolate sponge cake, must be some fudgy decant chocolate cake. To me, a chocolate torte seems close enough.


I learned that chocolate torte requires very little amount of flour, or no flour at all. It also requires that the egg whites be beaten separately from the yolks. It was a major breakthrough for me to try this out! Ever since I started my baking journey almost a year ago, I have Not tried beating egg whites before. Somehow, the process of beating egg whites seems so intimidating to me. I wasn't sure when the stiff peaks were formed, and I had to stop the mixer several times to check. After baking the cake, I still wasn't sure whether I got it right?! Anyway, I have finally overcome my fear, and I certainly have the courage now to try other recipes such as a chiffon cake!

The cake cracked while in the oven and sank a little after it was cooled. I like how the cake turned out...with the crusty, flaky surface. I left the cake at room temperature over night as I wanted to see how the texture would be like if it was not refrigerated. The very fine, smooth and soft texture of the cake was really pleasing to my taste buds. It was not sweet at all, and I love the slight bitter sweetness from the dark chocolate. Not to mention the chocolaty aroma filling my entire kitchen, spilling over to my living room when the cake was baking. I was very sure that my next-door neighbour could also smell it!

Well, the males in my family didn't really like the cake. They complained that the cake was not sweet enough, too soft, not like brownies, and they prefer MORE chocolates to be added! I wasn't bothered by their comments at all, as I truly enjoyed the taste and texture of this cake. Next time, I will make this again just for my OWN indulgence ;)

Ingredients:
(make one 18cm cake)

150g dark chocolate
100g butter
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
70g caster sugar
30g cake flour
15g cocoa powder
icing sugar for dusting


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degC. Line the bottom of an 18cm round pan (with removable base) with parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides. Separate egg whites from egg yolks when the eggs are still cold from the fridge. (It's easier to separate eggs while they are cold). Sift together flour and cocoa powder, twice, set aside.
2. Melt dark chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl is able to sit above the water and it should cover the pot so that steam will not get inside the bowl). Remove from heat. Let cool.
3. With a manual whisk, whisk egg yolks with 20g of the caster sugar, till the mixture turns pale, becomes thick and creamy. Add in the melted chocolate/butter mixture. Whisk till well mixed. Add in flour mixture and fold gently with a spatula. Set aside.
4. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy.  Add half of the sugar amount and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage.The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy. (Do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter.)
5. Add the egg white to the egg yolk mixture in three addition. Each time, fold in gently with a spatula, making sure all the egg whites are incorporated into the batter. Note that any unmixed egg white lumps may cause holes in the final product.
6. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Tap the cake pan slightly on tabletop a few times to release any trapped bubbles in the batter. Bake at 170 degC for 30 ~ 35 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumb. The cake surface will start to crack while still in the oven.
7. Remove cake from oven, leave it in the pan for about 5mins. Unmould and let cool, right side up (do not invert) on wire rack. The cake is best eaten at room temperature. If stored in fridge, bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Recipe source: adapted from Delicious!! Baked Cakes 

** This cake is best baked in a springform pan or one that has got a removeable base. If these are not available, besides lining the base of a normal pan with parchment paper, line the sides with parchment paper as well. Make sure the paper comes up about 1/2 inches higher than the rim of the pan. When ready to unmold, simply lift the cake by the parchment paper. Remove the paper and let cool right side up.