Chocolate Gateau (Chocolate Cake)
Try this Chocolate Gateau Chocolate Cake recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Chocolate Gateau Chocolate Cake recipe, or contribute your own.
- a pinch of salt
- powder sugar
- all-purpose flour for dusting
- 90 grams/3.2 oz (7 tbsp.) unsalted butter
- 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter for greasing
- 30 grams/1.1 oz (1/3 cup minus 1 tbsp.) all-purpose flour
- 75 grams/2.6 oz (1 cup minus 1 tbsp.) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 150 gram/5.4 oz good quality semi-sweet chocolate
- 4 cold eggs (i decided to reduce an egg after taking the
- 180 grams/6.3 oz (2/3 cup + 1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 60 grams/60 ml heavy whipping cream
- raspberry for garnish
- Carbohydrate 20.916 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.021 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0042 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (21g)
- Sodium 0.21 mg
- Sugar 20.916 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 82 calories
Step-by-step
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190C). Butter an 8-inch baking pan, dust the inside of the pan with flour, and tap out the excess.
- Line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the paper with flour and tap out the excess. Set aside.
- Combine the flour and cocoa powder and sift, set aside.
- Chop chocolates into small pieces and set aside.
- Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (140F/60C) and add the chocolate. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted.
- Add the coarsely chopped butter and let it melted completely. Transfer the bowl to the counter and let the mixture cool.
- Separate the cold eggs, putting the whites in a mixer bowl or other large bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.
- While the chocolate is cooling, place the egg whites in a clean bowl with a pinch of salt. Working with the whisk attachment of the mixer, beat the egg whites until they are foamy and start adding half of the sugar (3oz/90g) in 2-3 separate additions.
- Continue to beat on high speed until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved (about 5 min total). To test for stiff peaks, the peaks should stand straight up when you lift up the beaters. The whites should not slide around. Transfer the meringue into a bowl and wash the mixing bowl for next step.
- In the clean mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and the rest of sugar (3oz/90g) until creamy and stir in the heavy whipping cream.
- With a rubber spatula stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
- Then add the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture.
- Using the spatula, stir about ⅓ of the meringue in to the batter, then gently fold in the rest until the color is uniform.
- Pour the batter into the pan and give the pan several sharp taps on the counter to bring up any air bubbles that may be trapped in the batter.
- Bake at 375 degrees F (190C) for 10 minutes and then lower the setting to 340 degrees F (170F) and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick pulls out moist crumbs when inserted near the center of the cake. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the cake rest for 15 minutes.
- Run a knife along the edges of the cake and carefully turn the cake over onto a rack and remove the pan and the parchment paper. Invert the cake onto a serving platter before serving. As the cake cools, it may deflate a bit. Decorate with raspberry and dust the powder sugar before serving.
Standard recipes omit the crucial physical chemistry behind folding whipped egg whites into a dense chocolate base. Cold eggs separate more cleanly than room-temperature ones, which matters because any trace of fat in the whites will prevent proper aeration. Whipping those whites requires adding granulated sugar gradually once the foam forms, reaching stiff peaks that stand straight up when the beaters lift. Sifting the cocoa powder and all-purpose flour together eliminates lumps that would otherwise survive the gentle folding process and create dry pockets in the crumb. Melting the semi-sweet chocolate over simmering water at 140 degrees F prevents the cocoa solids from scorching and seizing into a grainy paste. Incorporating a portion of the meringue aggressively lightens the heavy chocolate-yolk mixture before the remaining whites are folded in with a rubber spatula to preserve trapped air. Baking begins at a high temperature of 375 degrees F for 10 minutes to jumpstart expansion, followed by a drop to 340 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes. Testing doneness relies entirely on visual and textural cues rather than internal temperature probes; insert a wooden toothpick near the center to check for moist crumbs rather than wet batter. Deflation upon cooling is a normal characteristic of this flourless-style style structure due to the high volume of whipped eggs. Resting the baked cake in the pan for 15 minutes allows the crumb to set before inversion onto a cooling rack, preventing structural tears.
