Fudge Bottom Fantasy
“This is sick!” Normally, when I hear these words, I think of the line from the movie, “Apollo 13,” “Houston, we have a problem.” In my case I was smiling from ear to ear, because I knew it meant that my Fudge Bottom Fantasy was a huge success.
I had made a version of this flourless cake during Passover and after taking one bite realized it was not what I was hoping for. Whenever I hit a wall with a recipe, I wait until I can serve the next attempt to many people, so the opinions I get will come all at once.
This past week afforded me just such an opportunity. I was hosting a meeting at my house and knew the ladies coming over would not shy away from giving me their honest opinions.
We ate our lunches and I placed the desserts on the table, so that the speaker would be able to continue with her presentation, while we enjoyed dessert. A good sign that the cake was successful happened when one of my friends completely zoned out, very clearly missing the words of wisdom being taught to us, so she could savor the bite. The fact that this was obvious to all of us at the table made the moment even funnier.
Are you wondering what makes this cake so irresistible? It happens to be one of the creamiest flourless cakes around. It has a fudge-like consistency, yet is smoother than fudge by itself. The whipped cream topping is not overpowering, but most definitely complements the chocolate.
One of the other bonuses of the Fudge Bottom Fantasy cake is that the cake is prepared ahead of time, sits in the pan overnight and gets topped with the whipped cream a few hours before serving. When planning a lunch or dinner, timing is always important to me and the more I am able to do ahead of time, the happier I am.
I think the name is appropriate, because my dessert fantasy, “comes true,” with each and every fudgy bite I take of this delectable cake.
| Fudge Bottom Fantasy | | Print |
- Cake:
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 14 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 eggs, separated
- Topping:
- 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup confectioners sugar
- Garnish:
- chocolate chips for grating
- raspberries (optional)
- For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9” springform pan, line it with parchment paper and butter the parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine butter, chocolate, sugar, water, cocoa powder and vanilla together in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave, a bit at a time, until the chocolate has melted. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- Whisk the egg yolks together. After the chocolate mixture has cooled, whisk in the egg yolks.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter in two or three additions. You do not need to have the egg whites completely blended before adding more.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Cool completely on a cooling rack. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, remove the top foil. Release the hinge of the springform pan. Use a small metal spatula to go around the edge of the pan. Release the side of the pan and lift over the cake. Place a serving plate over the top of the cake. Invert the cake onto the serving plate. Run the metal spatula between the bottom of the springform pan and the parchment paper. Remove the parchment paper.
- For the topping:
- Beat the whipping cream and the powdered sugar in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Transfer the topping to the cake. Use an angled metal spatula to spread the topping over the sides and top of the cake.
- Grate chocolate over the cake. If using raspberries, place them around the bottom of the cake and put one in the center of the cake.
- Betsy's tidbit:
- Chocolate curls may be used on top of the cake instead of grated chocolate. Use a vegetable peeler and a wedge of chocolate (make the curls over wax paper and then transfer them to the cake) to make the curls.
