This recipe was given to me by Marco Pappalardo owner of Il Regno Seffa Pasta, a shop in Bologna where I bought fresh pasta and dolce treats. In researching this recipe, I found it is a dessert typical of the city of Ferrara. The intense chocolate flavor, moist inside, has few ingredients and is easy to make. Perfect served with a whisky flavored whipped cream, a scoop of coffee ice cream, or even a dollop of rich Mascarpone cheese.
Ingredients
8- ounces bittersweet dark chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup butter. (one stick), cut into small pieces
5 eggs, room temperature, separated
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
Powdered sugar to decorate
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Butter the sides of a 9-inch spring form pan and place a buttered piece of parchment paper in the bottom. Set aside
Dissolve the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring constantly. When the chocolate is melted, stir in the butter until well incorporated. Let the mixture cool slightly.
Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and with an electric hand beater, beat to the soft peaks stage. Add half of the sugar a tablespoon at a time, continue beating until whites are glistened and fluffy. Set aside.
Put the egg yoks in another bowl with the remaining sugar and beat until a light golden mixture is formed. Add the cooled chocolate and mixture a little at a time beating on low speed until well combined.
With a spatula, fold 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the mixture to lighten the batter. Continue folding remaining egg whites, gently mixing from bottom to top. While folding, add the flour, a tablespoon at a time until a uniform mixture is obtained.
Pour the batter into the spring form pan and bake for 12 to14 minutes.
NOTE: The timing is very delicate. Start checking the time after 14 minutes. The center should be slightly soft.
Allow to cool, remove from pan and dust with powdered Serves 6 to 8
