CookingWithPam ... recipes and stuff from the kitchen of Pamela Rice Hahn

	Andrew's (Flourless) Mocha-Fudge Cake
			When my nephew Andy sent me this picture of the decadent flourless mocha fudge cake he'd made for a dinner party, I knew it was just a matter of time before we made it during one of his visits here....
	Ingredients: 18 ounces semi-sweet chocolate 1 3/4 cup sugar 2 cups butter 9 ounces strong coffee 9 eggs Preheat the oven to 250°F. Next, Andy lines a 9-inch springform pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Myself, my Lazy About way of doing things is that I just leave the base of my springform pan in place when I place the cake on a stand to serve it.
	(Look at the build on this boy: He doesn't eat nearly often enough at his Favorite Aunt Pam's!)		Place the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. (That's using the bain-marie method of diffusing the heat so that you melt the chocolate, not scorch it. In other words, a bain-marie is what we here in this neck o' the woods usually call a "double boiler.") ... Andy shows how this is done, using a whisk to stir the mixture until the chocolate is melted.


	Remove the bowl from the heat and continue to whip the mixture to cool it slightly, then gradually whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Pour into the prepared springform pan and bake it (on a shelf in the middle of the preheated oven) for 2 hours, or until set. (Note: It will appear a "bit jiggly" in the center, but will set up once the cake cools. Andrew recommends refrigerating the cake for 24 hours before cutting it. I've never been able to wait that long!) You can decorate the cake with chocolate-dipped strawberries or other fruit, like ambitious Andy does. Otherwise, I recommend my Lazy About way of dusting it with powdered sugar and serving it with some whipped cream.
			Let others (with more time) get fancy and pipe whipped cream around the plate. I prefer to sift a dusting of powdered sugar on the cake and around the plate, and then flop a "small" glop of whipped cream beside the cake.

	Article, recipe, and photos: Copyright © 2002-2006 Pamela Rice Hahn All Rights Reserved For reprint permission or for other writing assignments, contact the author.
			I use a Chicago Metallic Professional 9-Inch Nonstick Spring Form Pan. An alternative pan would be the Kaiser Bakeware La Forme 9-Inch Nonstick Springform Pan with its slanted sides, or, you could divide the batter between several smaller pans or even ramekins, if you want to serve the "cakes" like individual custards; just be sure to adjust the baking time if you do. Note: Andrew's Mocha-Fudge Cake is so rich, that even a ramekin could hold two to four servings! ... In fact, putting a single-serving amount inside each ramekin "streamlines" the process because you won't need to worry about how to "plate" each serving. Adjust how full you fill each one and the subsequent baking time according to your needs. The Le Creuset ramekins shown to the left are also available in white and an entire rainbow of other colors.