14 oz Best-quality bittersweet
-chocolate
6 tb Heavy cream
6 tb Unsalted butter, plus more
-for tins
5 lg Eggs, separated
10 tb Sugar
1/2 ts Vanilla
3/4 c Ground almonds
Confectioners’ sugar, for
-dusting (opt.)
1. To make ganache, chop 2 oz of the chocolate into small pieces and
place in small bowl. Pour cream into a small saucepan and heat until
bubbles appear around edge. Pour hot cream over chocolate, let stand
several minutes, and stir until smooth. Pour ganache into 6 squares
of a plastic ice-cube tray. Freeze until solid.
2. Butter six 3-inch metal baking rings and place on a parchment-lined
baking sheet; set aside.
3. Melt butter and remaining 12 oz chocolate in a heatproof bowl over
simmering water. Stir until smooth. Let cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and the
vanilla in bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until thick and pale
yellow, 5 to 8 minutes. Add chocolate butter mixture and thoroughly
combine. Fold in ground almonds.
5. In a separate bowl, beat remaining 4 tablespoons sugar with the egg
whites until stiff. Fold into egg yolk-chocolate mixture. Spoon about
3 T of batter into each ring. Remove frozen ganache cubes from
freezer; you may need to dip the bottom of the ice tray in hot water
to get them out. Place a cube in the center of each ring. Spoon
remaining batter into rings, being careful to keep ganache cubes in
center and cover them completely. Freeze filled molds until solid,
about 1 hour.
6. Heat oven to 375′. Take baking sheet from a freezer. Wrap any
cakes to be saved and replace in freezer; leave the rest on sheet.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 to 10
minutes. To unmold, cover one hand with a clean dish towel and pick
cake up on a spatula with the other. Invert cake into hand, pull off
ring, then invert again onto a plate and dust with confectioners’
sugar, if desired. Serve immediately.
Martha Stewart Living/Feb. & March/94 Scanned & fixed by Di and Gary
Yields
6 Minicakes