Flourless Chocolate Cake

A friend of mine recently told me he was cutting down on the white foods, flour and sugar, for health concerns. But being a chocolate addict, he asked me to whip him up a nice dessert so I decided to try out a flourless chocolate cake. I couldn't completely eliminate the sugar but I could greatly reduce it. And the addition of some nice Grand Marnier liqueur certainly helped. The cake itself is nothing very pretty to look at. When it comes out of the oven, it has a soft cracked shell on the outside. However, the rest of the cake holds its own. One bite, and you would never know there was no flour. As a side note, the cream I served it with is absolutely necessary. It cuts through the denseness and brings this cake to a whole new level.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
6 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
splash of Grand Marnier
optional: orange zest

Cream topping:
2 cups whipping cream
splash of vanilla extract
optional: 1-2 TBSP powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you want the overall taste to be)

Need: 8 inch pan lined with parchment paper

1. Melt chocolate in double boiler. Add softened butter and let the two combine.
2. In one bowl, whip two eggs, 4 yolks, and half of your sugar. Gently add your melted chocolate to your mixture.
3. In another bowl, whip your 4 egg whites until white and foamy and then add the remainder of your sugar until soft peaks. Carefully incorporate your white mixture into your chocolate mixture.
4. Add your chosen flavorings. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is no longer wobbly.
5. For your cream topping: In a bowl with whisk attachment, whip your cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar to soft peaks. Put a generous dollop on top of your slice once your cake has cooled.