Gluten Free Chocolate Souffle Cake with Raspberry Fool

Gluten Free Chocolate Souffle Cake with Raspberry Fool

We had our nieces, Terrie and Stacy over for dinner last night along with Stacy's boyfriend, Nick. Since Terrie eats a gluten free diet, I was planning to make a fruit tart to experiment with a gluten free crust. As I was looking online for a non wheat flour pastry recipe, I stopped to browse Facebook for a minute and discovered that it was actually Nick's 23rd birthday! That of course changed plans; we had to have a birthday cake!

Since we still had to have a gluten free dessert, I went to my default cake for those occasions but make no mistake, the selling point of this cake is not that it is made without flour, it is the delicious, rich taste and melt-in-your-mouth texture that are the real highlights here. The texture is dense with an almost brownie-like texture but it really does melt in your mouth due to the meringue base of the recipe. Trust me, nobody complains that this cake doesn't have a normal cake-y texture and with the addition of the whipped cream raspberry fool, fresh berries and extra drizzle of chocolate ganache, even folks like me who don't need to eat gluten free will be putting this at the top of their favorite chocolate desserts.

Gluten Free Chocolate Souffle Cake with Raspberry Fool

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

A gluten free dessert cake for any occasion, topped with a raspberry whipped cream fool, fresh raspberries and a drizzle of chocolate ganache.

Prep time: Approximately 30 minutes.
Cook time: 30-40 minutes
Total time: Approximately 3 hours including cooling time.
Yield: One 12 inch or two 9 inch round cakes.

Ingredients

• 1 pound + 1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped or chocolate chips(at least 50% cocoa)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 10 extra large eggs
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 3/4 cup sugar (divided into 1/2 and 1/4 cup)
• 1 tsp + 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 3 cups + 2 tbsp whipping cream
• 4 tbsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• 2 1/2 cups frozen raspberries
• 1.2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp corn starch

Baking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 12 inch spring form pan and dust with cocoa. Line the bottom with parchment paper to easily release the cake when baked. (The cake can also be baked in two 9 inch round pans if you prefer.)
3. Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler just until melted, set aside to cool almost to room temperature. Stir in the cocoa, vanilla and salt until smooth.
4. Separate the eggs and beat the whites to soft peaks. Slowly beat in the 1/2 cup of sugar to form a meringue. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. 
5. Beat the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar until light and foamy and fold into the meringue along with the chocolate mixture.
6. Pour the batter  into the prepared cake pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes or until the center of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pans for about 20 minutes before removing them from the pan and cooling completely on a wire rack. NOTE: this cake will fall somewhat in the pans as it cools, this is perfectly normal for this recipe.
7. Prepare a raspberry coolis by simmering together the frozen raspberries and 1/2 cup sugar for about 15 to 20 minutes
8. Press the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the raspberry seeds. Return to the pot and simmer again.
9. Add a thickening slurry by dissolving the 1 tbsp corn starch in a little water. Add it to the simmering coulis, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool completely, stirring occasionally as it cools so that he surface does not solidify.
10. To prepare the raspberry fool, beat the 3 cups whipping cream, 2 tsp vanilla extract and 4 tbsp icing sugar together until firm peaks form.
11. Fold the cooled raspberry coolis through the whipped cream. You don't need to completely incorporate the coolis, just swirl it through.
12. Frost the top of the cake with the coolis.
13. Garnish with fresh raspberries and a drizzle of chocolate ganache if desired.
14. A chocolate ganache can be made by melting together the 2 tbsp whipping cream and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.