Fresh Flavor Fast: Flourless Chocolate Cake

When Everyday Food named their new collection "Fresh Flavor Fast," I have to admit I rolled my eyes. It seemed like a kitschy follow up to "Great Food Fast." After the meals I've made out of this cookbook, I can honestly say they have earned the use of the word "Fresh," in their name.

While it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about freshness, this Flourless Chocolate Cake is the polar opposite of the dense, chewy balls with a constarchy "molten" chocolate filling, that usually bears the mantle in chain restaurants.

Despite nearly a stick of butter and six eggs, this cake tastes unbelievably light.  Though flourless, the whipped egg whites make this a cake that rises with a pretty, papery surface, and falls slightly when you remove the springform pan's outer piece. You serve it right on the bottom of the springform pan, I would not suggest moving it unless you line it with parchment paper before hand. It's really stuck on there, and not stable enough to move without falling apart.

Everyday Food suggests just sprinkling with confectioner's sugar, which gives it a pleasantly fairy-dusted homemade feel, but that old fashioned, attention to detail, cake you never forget "homemade."

I'm a big chocolate person, so when I say this cake is one of the best I've ever had, you'll have to take it as a fact. It's light, but the cocoa powder gives it a deep, bitter, earthy chocolate flavor which contrasts nicely with a sweet whipped cream. Or Cool Whip, if you're my dad. He just loves Cool Whip.

Whatever it's served with, its simple process and just four ingredients means it's going to be made again and again at my house. I hope you will feel the same way.

Everyday Food's Flourless Chocolate Cake

Serves 8

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or 8 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate)
• 6 large egg yolks
• 6 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees; with rack in center. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Place butter and chocolate in a large bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until melted; cool slightly. Whisk in yolks.
2. In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar; beat until stiff and glossy. Whisk 1/4 of whites into chocolate mixture; gently fold mixture into remaining whites.
3. Pour into prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until cake pulls away from sides of pan and is just set in center, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Serve dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Flourless Chocolate Cake - Martha Stewart Recipes