Chocolate Fantasy Cake With Chocolate Ganache Icing

(Emeril Lagasse)

Ingredients

Icing

Cake

Directions

Icing

1. In a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate with the cream, stirring constantly until smooth.
2. Don’t let the mixture boil.
   Remove from the heat.
   Use immediately or store, refrigerated, in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.
   Reheat in the top of a double boiler.

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
   Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter and dust with flour, taping out any excess
2. The Cake:
   1. In a metal bowl, set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate with the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter and stir occasionally until smooth and creamy.
      Remove from heat.
   2. Separate the eggs.
   3. In another bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks together with the sugar and vanilla until thick, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice, for about three minutes.
   4. In a third bowl, whisk the egg whites with the salt until stiff, for about two minutes.
      Slowly and gently fold the chocolate into the yolk mixture, adding just a little chocolate at a time to keep the eggs from scrambling.
      Fold in the egg whites.
3. Pour the batter into the springform pan and bake in the center of the oven until spongy for about 40 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven, remove the springform ring, and place the cake on a rack to cool completely.
5. When the cake is cool, prepare the Chocolate Ganache (Recipe below).
6. To serve, spread the Chocolate Ganache Icing over the cake.
   Top with raspberries and serve a small wedge of cake with a dollop of whipped cream.