Fall recipes: Flourless whiskey cake from Chocolat Céleste

October 1, 9:30 AMMinneapolis Dessert Restaurants ExaminerKim Klietz

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When you think of fall, the classic desserts that come to mind are pumpkin bars and apple crisp, but why not mix it up this season and make a decadent flourless chocolate cake? It’s hard to find a more rich and flavorful treat. 

In order to take a standard flourless chocolate cake recipe to the next level, I turned to Mary Leonard, chef and owner of the chocolate boutique Chocolat Céleste in St. Paul. While the standard flourless chocolate cake is dark and rich on its own, Mary bumps up the flavor by adding Jack Daniel’s to the cake batter, and a white chocolate cream topping, also laced with bourbon.

Chocolat Céleste Flourless Whiskey Cake
Ingredients:

• 12 oz white chocolate
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup Jack Daniel’s Bourbon
• 12 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• ½ cup Jack Daniel’s Bourbon
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces, at room temperature
• 5 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:
Prepare the white chocolate cream at least 1 day in advance. Put the white chocolate into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade or a blender container. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and process until completely smooth. Add the bourbon, taste, and add up to the tablespoon more if you want. Turn into a container with a tight-fitting lid and chill overnight. The can be kept covered in the refrigerator for a week or frozen up to a month. If you`ve frozen the cream, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper; butter the paper. Put the cake pan in a shallow roasting pan and set aside until needed.

Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and keep close at hand. In the 2 quart saucepan, mix 1 cup of the sugar and the bourbon and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture come to a full boil. Immediately pour the hot syrup over the chocolate and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Piece by piece, stir the butter into the chocolate mixture. Make certain that each piece of butter is melted before you add another.

Put the eggs and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the eggs thicken slightly. Beating with the whisk, add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Gently whisk in the flour.

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan, running your spatula over the top to smooth it. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan. Bake the cake for exactly 30 minutes in oven heated to 350°, at which point the top will have a thin, dry crust. Remove the cake pan from its water bath, wipe the pan dry, and cover the top of the cake with a sheet of plastic wrap. Invert the cake onto a flat plate, peel off the parchment. Quickly but gently invert again onto a serving platter; remove plastic.

Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. Slice; lace serving plates with the chilled white chocolate cream.
For more:

Chocolat Céleste, 2506 University Ave. West, St. Paul, 866.644.3823