Summer is in full swing which is starting to make it a bit of a pain when I think about cooking.  You see, it’s about 90 degrees Farenheit outside (30 degrees Celcius) and I have no air conditioning.  To think about turning on the oven is like considering taking a skinny dip in molten lava - in other words, not so tempting!

But as it is, I love to cook.  It gives me a balance that I had when living in Chicago - that same balance and happiness that I got while in my darkroom printing photos.  It’s a zen experience.  So I suck it up.

Friday we ended up going to our friend Ali’s birthday - and I wanted to try to do something that I had never done before - a flourless birthday cake.

So for this particular indulgence, I scoured the web and found just the right recipe that stood raised it’s hand screaming, “Bake me! Bake me!”.  This particular recipe is from Tish Boyle’s The Cake Book.  The recipe is supposed to be for one 9″ round pan, however I used an 8″ springform pan and was really pleased because when the cake is warm, it’s extra extra jiggly.

The title of the cake is called “Chocolate Intensity” and really is an understatement because the cake itself is this dark, rich, fudge-like, solid pudding that uses almost an entire pound of chocolate between the cake and the smooth glaze.  Javier thought of putting the shredded coconut on top of everything, just as a decorative addition, but it really made a lovely contrast in flavor as well.

The recipe is as follows:

Chocolate Intensity
from Tish Boyle’s The Cake Book
(makes one 9-inch cake or a slightly thicker 8-inch cake)

8 ounces (1 cup) bittersweet chocolate (preferably 62% cocoa), finely chopped
12 ounces (3 sticks, 339 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brewed coffee
6 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake or spring form pan. Line the bottom with a parchment round and butter the parchment. (If you’re using a pan with a removable bottom like a springform, make sure to wrap the pan with 2 or 3 layers of foil.)

Place chopped chocolate in a large bowl.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir butter, sugar and coffee until the butter is melted and mixture is boiling. Pour the hot mixture over your chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously until blended. Whisk in the vanilla and salt. Slowly add about 3/4 cup hot chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly. (Tempering the eggs with a little bit of the hot chocolate mixture will prevent “scrambled eggs” when combining the two mixtures.) Add the egg mixture to the hot chocolate mixture and whisk to combine well.

Strain the batter through a sieve (to catch any cooked egg bits) and then pour batter into prepared pan. Set cake pan in a large roasting pan and fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the center is shiny and set but still a bit jiggly. Transfer cake pan to a cooling rack and cool for 20 minutes.

Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Place a cardboard round on top of the pan and invert the cake onto it. Remove pan and carefully remove the parchment paper. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours before glazing with chocolate glaze or before serving unglazed with crème anglaise.

Chocolate Glaze

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. Gently stir in the vanilla. Transfer glaze to a small bowl and cover the surface of the glaze with plastic wrap and let cool for 5 minutes at room temperature before using.

To glaze the cake:

Place the chilled cake, still on the cake round, on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Slowly pour the hot glaze onto the center of the cake. Smooth the glaze over the top and sides, letting the excess drip onto the baking sheet.

Scrape the extra glaze from the baking sheet and put it in a small ziploc bag. Seal the bag and cut a tiny hole in one of the bottom corners. Gently squeeze the bag over the top of the cake to drizzle the glaze in a decorative pattern. Refrigerate the cake at least one hour before serving.

Crème Anglaise
(makes about 2 1/4 cups)

2 cups whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split
6 tbsp granulated sugar
pinch of salt
6 egg yolks

Pour milk into a heavy saucepan. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into milk and add the pod, sugar and salt. Heat the milk mixture until warm but not simmering.

Prepare an ice bath (a bowl nested in a larger bowl filled with ice water).

In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks lightly. Slowly add about 3/4 cup of the warm milk to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Strain custard into the bowl set in the ice water. Stir the crème anglaise to cool it down. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Today is Martin’s birthday.  Martin is not only a great friend and associate but seriously one heck of a guy.  He just returned from Puerto Varas, Chile, where he was working on some projects with Stiven Kerestegian.

One project in particular worth noting is Es Sustainable - and whether you’re looking at this project from an environmental or design standpoint, either way, these guys are on the right track.  They provide sustainable products to the design community and in turn, sales from these products go back to the local Patagonian communities and towards the efforts to keep alive the indigenous craft traditions that also happen to have little to no impact on the environment.

From cured salmon pelts that come out looking, feeling, smelling - and even with the surprising strength of cow leather to woven products and crin jewelry - there is a solid range of design products that needs to be seen - not only by the public but designers and stores looking to make high quality sustainable products a priority.

Without a doubt, I’m buying some of the salmon leather this summer and sending to my friend Marjorie (of Maud & Marjorie) in Paris so that she can make me the coolest bathing suit in the world.  How about it, swimming in fishskin?

Anyway, happy birthday Martin, and I hope you enjoyed your “Coconut-covered-lemon sponge with blueberry/strawberry surprise filling” cake.  I have to come up with a better name for it. Coconut Lemon Bomb, maybe?