cracked chocolate earth

i saw tyler florence make this on tv.  i have never tried to make a flourless chocolate cake...it looked so easy to make and fantastically delicious....i had to try it.  the recipe is available on line at the food network website and also in tyler's ultimate cookbook.  i have made a lot of tyler's recipes and they are fairly easy...even though i tweak them a bit they still come out really good.  for this cake i followed the recipe in the cook book as is....then i noted later that the online recipe has a cooks note saying you can use half the butter....i have not tried it that way.  since we liked it a little gooey in the middle i reduced the butter just a bit the second time i made it but not by half......that is the recipe i will quote here.  this is a beautiful cake...wonderful served warm with haagen dazs vanilla ice cream.  the cake below is on a cake plate that tilly had saved from her mother.....my mom would call it depression glass....i don't really know how old it is but it is special to me.  i keep in my antique oak china cupboard which also belonged to tilly's mom..... along with some other pieces tilly liked to use on thanksgiving.

recipe after the jump


1 & 3/4 sticks butter
1 pound bittersweet chocolate cut into small pieces (i use ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet)
9 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar
confectioners sugar, for dusting

preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 inch springform pan
put the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (i use a glass pyrex bowl over a big pot with 1 inch of water in the bottom).  water should not touch the bowl.  simmer until melted.  meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a separate mixing bowl until light in color.   take the warm chocolate off the heat and stir it up til it is smooth.....let it sit to cool a bit.  then put a little of the warm chocolate mixture into the yolk and sugar mixture and stir......to temper....then mix the rest of the warm chocolate into the yolk mixture.  set aside. beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl to stiff peaks then gently fold into the chocolate mixture.  pour it into the prepared spring form pan and bake until set.  now tyler says 20-25 minutes i let it go 35 in my oven...it came out just a tiny bit gooey in the very center. remove from oven and let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes...then release the sides of the pan....ahhhhhhh this is velvety chocolate awesomeness....not sweet but wonderfully rich.
 in february my cousin (hi kelly!! )  got married in virginia......where my mom and both sisters now live.  my husband lars and i flew down for the wedding .  my mom and my sister and lars all have a birthday in february so i decided i would make them all a meal and a birthday cake at my sister's house.......this was the  perfect cake.  i called rene to make sure she had a springform pan and packed the 4 big chocolate bars in my checked bag.  with very few ingredients or super fancy steps this worked out very well....a great time was had by all....at the birthday dinner and the wedding....incidentally we missed the ceremony due to a forrest fire ....only made the reception due to lars' stunt driving and gps skills....yay lars.