I found this recipe on the web during the holiday and I made a note to try it. Good note! I made it yesterday for  friends we had over for dinner and it came out great. This is a dessert with a strong coffee taste and bitter chocolate. Do not expect this to be a hit with kids but it will please the grown-up palate. Credits for the cake go to Jim Nuetzi, executive chef at Capital Grill. The raspberry sauce is easy and  a must have with this cake. Don’t pass on it!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound chocolate (according to the recipe semi-sweet, I used 75% dark)
• 4 sticks unsalted butter at  room temperature diced
• 1 cup freshly brewed espresso
• 1 cup golden brown sugar
• 8 eggs, lightly beaten
• for the raspberry sauce: 1 1/2 pounds raspberries,  1/4 pound or 120 grams  sugar,  1/2 teaspoon salt

How to make: Make a cup of espresso.  I believe it will probably be OK to use a cup of strong filter coffee. I made a cup of espresso using the traditional Italian coffee maker. My Italian friend, indeed one of our guests yesterday, told me what I used is not an espresso coffee maker but a moka coffeemaker and, of course, she’s right! So, that’s how I made the cake, with a cup of moka coffee.  Bring the coffee, butter and sugar to boil in a saucepan. When the sugar is dissolved, add the chocolate, cut in small pieces so it’ll melt quickly. Use a whisk to blend everything. When the chocolate is melted and well combined,  take the mix off the heat and let it cool a bit.  Use a whisk to blend the beaten eggs in the chocolate mix.  Pour the chocolate and eggs mix in a small round pan, then place it in a  larger pan. Pour hot water in the larger pan until it reaches half way up the smaller pan. The idea is to cook the cake in a hot bath of water, like you’d do for a creme caramel. Cook in pre-heated 350F or 180 C oven for about 45 minutes. When ready, let it cool off a bit and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.  It must stay in the fridge overnight.

For the raspberry sauce,  mix the raspberries with the sugar and salt and leave in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. When you are ready to serve or earlier, puree the raspberries mix in a blender. Jim Nuetzi strains the sauce before serving. I didn’t. I liked its thickness and the fact you could kind of see the fruit in it. Your choice. In the photo, you can see what the sauce looks like when not strained. By the way, be sure to save some raspberries to decorate the cake!  I decorated mine with some raspberries and topped everything with a sprinkle of cocoa powder.