Gâteau au Chocolat (ガトーショコラ)

• servings: 6
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

150 g high quality chocolate (Couverture 56% cacao recommended, but anything above 50% is fine)

90 g heavy whipping cream

90 g granulated sugar.

50 g cacao powder

45 g unsalted butter

3 whole eggs

Mini chocolate chips to taste (semisweet recommended, but do whatever)

Powdered sugar to taste (final garnish)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place a large glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water to create a double boiler. Add the chocolate to the glass bowl, and melt it slowly until no solids remain, stirring every once in a while.

Combine the butter and heavy whipping cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter is melted and the mixture is starting to let off steam, careful not to burn the ingredients.

Once the chocolate has completely melted, add in the butter and cream mixture ⅓ at a time, mixing until well combined before adding in the next ⅓. While still over the double boiler, add in the cacao powder, straining it through a fine mesh first, then mix well to combine. Remove the glass bowl from the double bowler and set aside.

In a large glass bowl, add the 3 whole eggs. Whisk until combined, then add the granulated sugar. Place the bowl over a saucepan of hot, steaming water to form a double boiler, then whip the mixture for a while until you get loose peaks. Remove from the double boiler.

Fold ⅓ of the whipped eggs into the bowl with the chocolate mixture. Once that’s well combined and the chocolate mixture has loosened up, add the entire mixture back into the large glass bowl with the remaining ⅔ of the whipped egg mixture. Fold everything together until well combined, careful not to deflate too much of the air.

Line a tall 6” cake pan (or separate cake pans of various sizes) with parchment paper that extends up past the top. This will help us take out the cake after baking. Pour the combined mixture into the cake mold, and lightly hit on the counter a few times to level the mixture. Top with mini chocolate chips to your desire.

Bake the batter in a 350 F oven for about 20 minutes, until the top looks solid and a few cracks have formed. Allow the cake to cool briefly on the counter, then cool in the fridge for a further 3-4 hours for the texture to set. Sift a layer of powdered sugar over the top, and enjoy!

Notes

A classic French rich chocolate cake that’s also immensely popular in Japan. This cake isn’t too sweet, and is pretty intense on the chocolate flavor, so use the highest quality chocolate you can stomach for the best experience. The cracked top crust comes from the whipped egg whites in the recipe. It’s very simple with a lot of common household ingredients. This particular recipe is flourless, which produces a much less airy texture than varieties with flour. Look at some photos online to see if this is what you’re looking for. Best served with some powdered sugar, whipped cream, and berries to balance out the rich chocolate flavor. Made for a tall 6” cake mold, or two 4” ones.