Chocolate Gateau

I LOVE making this cake. I first had it at a potluck three years ago and demanded the recipe from a rather surprised looking stranger (or, shall we say, new friend!) It's not hard to make, is easy to gussy up, and, most importantly, is very chocolatey. It made an appearance at Mom's 60th. Today, it turned up at the Glaucoma Center of (culinary) Excellence for a friend's birthday and received such a warm reception that it decided to appear on this blog, as well. Enjoy!

Chocolate Gateau
Adapted from Cooks.com
Preheat the oven to 350.
Melt 12 oz bittersweet chocolate (I use chips), 2/3c (5oz) unsalted butter, and 3/4 c sugar in a microwave proof bowl, stirring occasionally (~3"). Semi-sweet chocolate works fine, too, just cut the sugar to 1/2c or so.
Allow this to cool (a few min is fine).
Meanwhile, separate 5 eggs.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Whisk the egg yolks, 1/3c flour, and a little salt into the chocolate mixture.
Mix 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, stirring vigorously.
Then, add the chocolate mixture into the rest of the egg whites (or vice versa, depending on which bowl is bigger.)  Take care not to smush all the egg whites with all that tasty chocolate: pour the chocolate down the side of the bowl if you can.
Fold the egg whites into the chocolate gently just until you no longer see white streaks/clumps.
Butter/spray a 9.5" round springform pan.  A regular round cake pan would work fine, too.  Consider lining it with parchment paper or aluminum foil for easy removal of the goods.
Bake for 35" or so, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely, several hours.

Surprisingly, I do not recommend topping this cake with chocolate. It's pretty dense as is. In fact, you should make sure to have some prophylactic milk or coffee on hand to manage the flavor burst you are about to experience. I top it with sliced strawberries, a cascade of raspberries, and/or a dusting of powdered sugar.

By the way, if anybody was looking for something to put in Dapper Dan's Easter basket, this would be a good place to start.

End of Winter Soup

I realized that the frig contained two glasses (~3 oz each) of bad chianti classico that I hadn't been able to finish the two previous nights. I threw the wine into the crockpot, atop 16 oz. tomatoes, 32 oz. veg stock, 1 T good balsamic vinegar, 2 or 3 T. of salsa, 1 cup of mixed pinto and black beans (soaked), a leek, a bunch of celery, 3 carrots and 1/2 of a vidalia onion - - the last 4 items having been sliced in the FP. Nice.