My Most Favorite Dessert in All the World!

On our first Valentine's Day together, Drew and I visited a restaurant in Austin that is known for its desserts.  It was there that we shared the most amazing dessert we had ever had!  It was a flourless chocolate torte, with a raspberry sauce drizzled on top of the torte (and in a fancy manner on the plate), along with sliced strawberries, which were delicately placed.  It was at that moment that both me and Drew realized we had found our most favorite dessert in all the world!   When we honeymooned in Switzerland, we found that there were some pretty amazing flourless chocolate tortes there as well!

Me, in Switzerland, devouring my favorite dessert!

One of my favorite things to do is figure out how to make my favorite restaurant dishes at home.  By doing this, we can enjoy our favorite dishes as much as we want, for a fraction of the cost of enjoying it at a restaurant.  And considering one slice of our favorite dessert is $8 at our local Austin restaurant, I can make it for a steal!  And that is what I did upon returning home from our honeymoon.  I tried several recipes before finding "the one."  And, lucky for you, I am sharing it below.  It tastes exactly like our favorite at the restaurant (that is famous for their desserts)!  This recipe is extremely rich, and is pretty big, so it is best for sharing.  I only make this once a year:  either on Valentine's or on Drew's birthday (because it is his favorite).  I think making it only once per year makes it even more special.   If you love chocolate, you will LOVE this dessert.  If you don't love chocolate--don't bother!  And want to know another plus?  It has absolutely no flour and is completely gluten free--so if that is a concern, you can check that off the list.  Enjoy!

The recipe is found here: 
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/La-Bete-Noire-235831

La Bete Noire

Yield:  Makes 16 servings  (although you could probably get more servings than that out of this.  It is pretty rich!)

Ingredients 

Cake:

• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar (I use coconut palm sugar)
• 9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted organic butter, diced
• 18 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped  (I use 18 ounces of these chocolate chips: Guittard (brand) extra dark chocolate baking chips, as the ingredients are pretty clean)
• 6 large eggs

Ganache:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (I recommend organic)
• 8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I use 8 ounces of these chocolate chips: Guittard (brand) extra dark chocolate baking chips)
• Lightly sweetened whipped cream (we don't even use this--instead, we serve with fruit like raspberries or strawberries)
  

Preparation

1. For cake:
   1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment round; butter parchment. Wrap 3 layers of heavy-duty foil around outside of pan, bringing foil to top of rim. Combine 1 cup water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
   2. Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk sugar syrup into chocolate; cool slightly. Add eggs to chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan.
   3. Bake cake until center no longer moves when pan is gently shaken, about 50 minutes. Remove from water bath; transfer to rack. Cool completely in pan.
2. For ganache:
   1. Bring whipping cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cake still in pan. Gently shake pan to distribute ganache evenly over top of cake. Refrigerate cake in pan until ganache is set, about 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.
   2. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake; release sides. Cut cake into wedges and serve with whipped cream