Ingredients

Cake:

6 oz semisweet or dark chocolate

6 eggs, separated

dash salt

3/4 C butter

3/4 C sugar

6 oz (1 1/2 C) ground almonds

bread crumbs to prepare the pan.

Icing:

1/2 C heavy cream

8 oz chocolate

Preparation

Cake:

  1. Melt the 6 oz chocolate for the cake, and set aside to cool.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375.
  3. Prepare the springform pan: butter the pan, line with parchment, butter the parchment and dust with bread crumbs.
  4. Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff but not dry, and set aside.
  5. Cream the butter with the sugar.
  6. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
  7. Beat in the melted chocolate. Make sure it is not too hot (you should be able to touch it.)
  8. Gradually beat in the almonds.
  9. Stir in a spoonful of the egg whites, then fold in the rest in 3 additions.
  10. Pour into prepared pan.
  11. Bake 20 minutes at 375, then 50 minutes at 350.
  12. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then remove from pan to cooling rack and allow to cool completely, right side up.

Icing:

  1. Scald the cream, add the 8 oz chocolate, broken up, and remove from the heat after a minute.
  2. Stir until the chocolate is melted and let cool to room temperature.

Icing the cake:

  1. If using a doily, stick it to the serving plate with a daub of frosting.
  2. Protect the serving plate or doily with a wax paper window. (Fold a square piece of wax paper in quarters and cut out a quarter-circle. Obviously, the window must be a little smaller than the cake.)
  3. Put the cake on the serving plate (with the wax paper between.)
  4. Pour the frosting over the cake and smooth down the sides with a spatula.
  5. Remove the wax paper before the icing hardens.
  6. Decorate the top with chocolate truffles, fresh raspberries or whatever seems good.