Food Network: Chocolate Cloud Cake

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Chocolate Cloud Cake
Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson, 2007

Ingredients
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, minimum 70 percent
cocoa solids
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
6 eggs, 2 whole, 4 separated
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, optional (recommended: Cointreau)
1 orange, zested

For the cream topping:
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur, optional (recommended: Cointreau)
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for sprinkling

Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of
the cake pan with baking parchment.

Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or a microwave, add the butter and
let melt in the warm chocolate.

Beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with 1/3 cup of the sugar, then gently add

the chocolate mixture, the orange-flavored liqueur and the orange zest.

In another bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the
remaining sugar and whisk until the whites hold their shape but are not too stiff.
Lighten the chocolate mixture with a dollop of egg whites, and then fold in the
rest of the whites. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or
until the cake is risen and cracked and the center is no long wobbly. Cool the
cake in its pan on a wire rack; the middle will sink as it cools.

When you are ready to eat, place the still pan-bound cake on a cake stand or plate
for serving and carefully remove the sides of the pan from the cake. Don't worry
about cracks or rough edges, it's the crater look we're going for here. Whip the
cream until it's soft and then add the vanilla and orange-flavored liqueur and
continue whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff. Fill the crater of the

cake with the whipped cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake,
and dust the top lightly with cocoa powder pushed through a tea-strainer.