Flourless Espresso-Chocolate Cake

This is a surprisingly easy cake to make.  I've toyed with the basic recipe a bit to allow for more commercial products but it's basically the same.

Ingredients:
3.5 oz Green & Black Espresso Chocolate
1/4 C sugar or Splenda*
3/4 stick of unsalted butter + small amount for pan
3 large eggs
1/3 C sweetened cocoa powder (Scharffen Berger is good) + some for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter the bottoms of 7-8 cups in a large cupcake tray. Line the bottoms with fitted rounds of parchment and re-butter them.

Break chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler melt the chocolate and butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove the top pan from the heat and whisk sugar into it. Add 2 eggs plus 1 yolk (save the extra white) and whisk well. Sift the cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into cups and bake 11 minutes in the middle of the oven or until a very thin crust starts to form on the tops. Put tin on a rack and cool the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes then gently remove onto serving plates.

While baking, whip or beat the remaining white into a soft-peaked meringue, add 1/4 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp of Splenda or 1 tsp confectioner sugar to sweeten and flavor slightly. You can use any type of cream - whipped, crème fraîche, or even yogurt - I use meringue here because it is very light, nearly no calories and uses up the extra white. Plus it's a different approach - the soft meringue looks like a pillowy cloud.

Serve dusted with cocoa powder, a dollop of meringue and some berries (again, to taste - we prefer blueberries and blackberries but any kind will do). The cakes will keep for about 3 days in an airtight container.

Images by MadeForJen