Le Dessert

I know you really wanted to know about the dessert

from my 

French Themed Dinner Party.

Le Dessert

Gâteau au chocolat avec coulis de framboise -

chocolate cake with raspberry coulis

Recipe follows.

 Heating the chocolate (sorry I must have been excited)

 Mixing egg mixture

The little darlings getting ready to bake

 Making the raspberry sauce

They're done!

And ready to eat.

Le Dessert

Mini Flourless Chocolate Cakes

Remember, one of my guests needed to eat gluten-free

This made 6 small cakes

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Ingredients for cakes:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons amaretto
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
 

Use butter to grease the ramekins. Then sprinkle sugar in each one and shake and roll to coat the inside of the ramekin evenly.

Combine the chocolate, butter and amaretto in the top of a double boiler. Melt the chocolate, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt and beat with an electric mixer until frothy. This takes about five minutes. Don't panic. Using a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Repeat until all of the egg mixture is folded into the chocolate.

Put the ramekins in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Divide the batter evenly into the ramekins. Then put water in the baking dish so that it comes up about halfway on the ramekins. Bake for between 20-30 minutes. The should have risen slightly and the edges will be set. Remove the ramekins from the baking dish and cool slightly. Use a knife to loosen the cakes from the edges of the ramekin. Invert each cake onto a plate and invert the cakes again on a platter. Cover and refrigerate. I did this the day before, so they were in the fridge overnight.

 

Ingredients for Raspberry Coulis:

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2 cups raspberries rinsed
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
 Make Simple Syrup by combining: 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water   in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves. This takes only a few minutes. Add the raspberries and lemon juice and bring to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer and stir until the berries are very soft, about 10 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 teaspoons of cold water. Add it to the raspberry mixture and cook until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and strain into a bowl. Seeds should then be discarded. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To create your dessert:

Pour 1 tablespoon of raspberry sauce on the bottom of serving plate. 

Carefully transfer your cooled chocolate cake to the plate.

Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar and/or toasted almond slivers if you like.

Place a few fresh raspberries beside cake.