Almost-Fudge Gateau

Cake, Chocolate, Desserts / Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

A few months ago, Jeff ordered a new wireless controller for the PlayStation. Then the old one started working. For me, this meant we should return the new controller or sell one on eBay. For Jeff, this meant that we had a backup.

Did we really need a backup?

Friends, did America really need to declare its independence?

So, we kept both.

During the course of our first move together, I realized we had backups for many, many things. Music. Movies. Ponchos. Silverware. Part of me feels very loved and secure when I see my computer-geek husband backing up the hard drives and making sure I don’t lose my entire iTunes collection. Again. But the other part of me – the part with a Shaker-like hatred of clutter – sees duplicates and wants to exterminate them. Thank God, twins don’t run in the family.

Before we move, I ask Jeff one more time if he’s going to sell the extra controller.

No, it’s still good to have a backup.

Why? Is one going to be raptured? Get trapped under a tree? Run off with a poncho?

Sunday night, the dog started trying to play with the cat by barking in his face and pouncing at him. So, the cat responded by baring his claws and lunging at the dog … who ran into the table and knocked over a stack of magazines … which slid into a glass of water … which spilled onto the new PlayStation controller.

And Jeff looks at me, like, NOW, aren’t you glad we have a backup?

Somewhere, he’s got a petri dish full of my stem cells. I just know it.

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream, chosen by Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity. I’m allergic to blueberries, but fortunately TWD offered a backup plan: doing a recipe from the archives. So, I finally completed the Almost-Fudge Gateau.

When the cake comes out of the oven, it isn’t much to look at. Plain. A little dumpy. Schlumpadinka. But the flavor … It’s almost flourless, so the chocolate flavor is intense, and the cake stays moist for days. Glam it up with Dorie Greenspan’s optional chocolate glaze, or top it with a scoop of ice cream.

In fact, do both. It’s nice to have backup.

Almost-Fudge Gateau

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours”

  • 5 large eggs
  • 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 5 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into chunks
  • 2 tablespoons coffee or water
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • Pinch of salt
    Glaze:

  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (regular or gluten-free)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour, and tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
  2. Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a large bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.
  3. Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and add the chocolate, sugar, butter and coffee. Stir occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are melted. Transfer the bowl to the counter, and let the mixture sit for 3 minutes.
  4. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the yolks, one by one, then fold in the flour.
  5. Using a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they hold firm, glossy peaks. Using the spatula, stir about one quarter of the beaten whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Scrape the butter into the pan, and jiggle the pan from side to side to even the batter.
  6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake has risen evenly (it might rise around the edges, and you’ll think it’s done, but give it a few minutes, and the center will puff, too) and the top has firmed (it will probably be cracked) and doesn’t shimmy when tapped; a thin knife inserted into the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack, and let the cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
  7. Run a blunt knife gently around the edges of the cake, and remove the sides of the pan. Carefully turn the cake over onto a rack, and remove the pan bottom and the parchment paper. Invert the cake onto another rack, and cool to room temperature right side up. (As the cake cools, it may sink.)
  8. For the Glaze: First, turn the cooled cake over onto another rack, so you’ll be glazing the flat bottom, and place the rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper to catch any drips.
  9. Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or over a pan of simmering water.
  10. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, and stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny.
  11. Stir in the corn syrup.
  12. Pour the glaze over the cake, and smooth the top with a long metal icing spatula. Allow the glaze to set at room temperature, or slip the cake into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. If the glaze dulls in the fridge, give it a little gentle heat from a hairdryer.

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45 thoughts on “Almost-Fudge Gateau”

  1. Oh drool. Your gateau looks drool-worthy. I wasn’t a member when TWD made this recipe but its definitely on the rewind must-bake list someday! Great job!
    Clara @ iheartfood4thought

  5. Wow, that looks like chocolate heaven. It looks delicious!

    My husband is a huge computer geek and the same way with all these backups. We have 2 spare printers, 2 spare computer towers, and a gazillion other electronic things we have no use for. I tell him we should just get rid of the spares, but apparently he has “plans” for this stuff. For what, I dare not ask. :)

  7. First of all, my husband is the same way, let’s keep that, you never know when we might need it!!! Second, YUM! It’s not even lunch time here, and yet, I could totally devour that gateau in a heartbeat!

  8. Very professional looking. Great story…guys rarely have a backup plan…I think that might be the big difference between men and women actually. Women always seem to have Plan B ready in the wings, while men seem to say, “Hmmmmmm….” a lot when something doesn’t come about as originally intended. I think the fact that Jeff has any sort of backup plan for anything should be rewarded…probably with more of this dessert.

  9. Your chocolate cake looks absolutely divine. As for backups for game controllers-we have backups for backups…you just never know who might drop in and want to play. BTW I have a little award for you at my blog.

  11. The gateau is one of my favorite TWD recipes so far. The only bad thing with TWD is that since I’m always making new recipes, I don’t have much time to go back and revisit the ones I liked the most. =)

  13. your comment about dna in a petri dish cracked me up. nice post.
    the gateau looks fab. anything that resembles a flourless chocolate torte gets my vote.

  15. There’s another one I have to go back and cover! Love how your post comes full circle. I am a bit of a packrat…er, backer-upper…as well. And, of course, I may end up using…maybe one percent of it if I’m lucky. Still, if there’s anything worth backing up, it’s delicious chocolatey desserts!

  17. hahhaa schlumpadinka – you must watch oprah ;)
    you can make the blueberry ice cream w/a different berry! how about raspberries?
    your gateau looks great, esp w/the strawberry :)

  20. Oh, your cake slice looks like the picture should be in a magazine! Absolutely beautiful! What a trooper you are to still make something for today. Btw, my hubby has many game controllers. Drives me nuts! I am constantly winding cords up and putting them away in a special wicker basker “with” a lid. There are teenage children about so I am so picking up video game cd holders and putting the disks back into the right boxes. They will put a disk in any empty box when in a hurry. In fact, I think they strongly believe some game fairy is doing this for them =D. Your cake really is beautiful and I hope you enjoyed the chocolate flavor.

  22. Can you please send Jeff over here? I have lots of backing up to be done – hmm, let’s start with all my photos, shall we?

    Your gateau is beautiful. That glaze is calling to me. I made a chocolate rewind this week also, because my ice cream maker was AWOL…

  26. ooooh becca. That looks so good. If it had orange zest i’d drive to nashville. As your Shaker sister whose animal guide is the turtle for his ability to carry everything with him, i do not understand packrats. Even the name… my god, it’s a type of rat! Why would anyone want to be compared to a rat? And yet i married one, too… what does that say about us?

  34. Looks fabulous. I haven’t gotten around to making this one up yet. And I was totally laughing about the whole backup playstation thing. You never know when you might need something!

  41. oh wow, this looks amazing!
    haha, i had to laugh about your husband! i’m married to a computer geek too, and you can only imagine what our office looks like- 2 computers, one for each of us, but his has 3 screens!! THEN, in the garage we have his server,and in a corner, tons of backup old computer systems, monitors, you name it, we have it!!!

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