Chocolate Cut Velvet

“Mr. Greene, a cookbook author, wrote a food column for the NY Times before he died, and this is one of the recipes that brought him fame, if not fortune. It is the richest “flourless” (it does use 1 Tablspoon of flour!) chocolate cakes that I have ever made. I think we can also accommodate your memory that the cake you made was very expensive – Bert always claimed that “domestoc chocolate simply will not do” and called for imported chocolate.”

1 pound imported European sweet chocolate such as Tobler’s Milk Chocolate bars
1 Tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 eggs, separated
1 cup heavy cream

1. Heat chocolate, water and vanilla in the top of a 2 quart double boiler over hot water over low heat. Allow the chocolate to melt very slowly since sweet chocolate, if melted too quickly, can turn into a lump. If this starts to happen, beat in butter immediately. Remove from heat and stir in the flour, sugar and butter.
2. Beat egg yolks lightly and whisk into the chocolate mixture. Beat egg whites just until stiff but not dry and fold gently into the chocolate mixture.
3. Line a buttered 8 inch springform pan with waxed paper. Butter the paper and pour in the batter. Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the oven door ajar. Cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour.
4. Carefully remove the outer rim of the cake pan. Place a serving plate over the cake and invert. Remove the waxed paper.
5. Whip cream with the Grand Marnier until stiff. Using a pastry bag, pipe cream over the top of the cake in a lattice pattern. Pipe stars around the base of the cake. Refrigerate.
6. Remove the cake from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
7. Cut into small pieces as it is very rich. Serves 12.

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