Flourless Chocolate-Kahlua Cake with Cajeta

Ingredients

• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 7 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 ounces coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
• Whites from 5 eggs
• 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• Cajeta, recipe follows
• Strawberry-lime salsa, recipe follows

Cajeta:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• Approximately 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter

Strawberry-Lime Salsa:

• 1 1/2 pints strawberries
• 2 key limes or 1 large lime, juiced
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chiffonade of mint

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch round pie pan. Line pan with greased parchment or waxed paper. In the top of a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate and stir until smooth. Whip the egg yolks and the sugar until fluffy and pale in color. Fold butter and chocolate mixture into the egg yolk and sugar mixture, adding the coffee liqueur. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks and gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the pie pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes then allow to cool completely.

Cajeta: In a medium saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil, do not stir. Remove from heat when the sugar is amber in color and add enough cream to thin the caramel to a fairly liquid consistency. Stir in butter. To test consistency, dip a spoon into the caramel mixture and allow to cool. If the "cajeta" is gooey but holds its shape, it's ready; if it hardens too much, add a little more cream and test again.

Strawberry-Lime Salsa: In a blender, puree half the strawberries with the lime juice and the sugar. Strain and reserve. Cut the remainder of the strawberries in quarters and mix with the puree. Add chiffonade of mint.

When the cajeta has cooled a little, but is still warm, pour over cake on top of a wire rack to catch the drippings. Using your hand, pat almonds all around the sides of the cake. Refrigerate for 2 hours and serve chilled with salsa.