Chocolate Truffle Cake

TOPPING
1/2 c Confectioners? sugar
2 1/4 c Whipping cream; thoroughly
-chilled

This is a Maida Heatter?s copycat version of Le Trianon Cake from Colette
French Pastries in New York. Francoise Lamar (by the looks of in the photo,
I would be quite surprised if she is still aroung) refused to divulge the
recipe for her heavy, moist, rich and very chocolately cake, so Heatter
came up with this version. Carol Rasmussen of the Chicago Tribune reported
(in 1983) that Heatter?s version is bigger; its texture is close, but not
exact. She also wrote that Heatter prefers to use Lindt Surfin, Lindt
Excellence and Tobler Tradition bittersweet chocolates, or use “the best
semisweet you can get.”

This cake is for a confirmed chocoholic!

Processing time: 5 minutes Preparation time: 25 minutes Baking time: About
2 hours

1. Cut a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to line completely a 10-inch
layer cake pan and allow about 3 inches beyond top of pan rim as a collar
for the pan. Thoroughly coat the foil, using 2 tablespoons of the butter.
Work as neatly as possible, avoiding any large folds or pleats in foil; put
foil in pan buttered side up. Set pan aside. Adjust oven rack to lowest
position. Heat oven to 250 degrees.

2. Mix coffee and sugar in a 3-quart saucepan. Stir well. Add remaining
butter and heat almost to simmering. Turn heat to low and stir frequently
until sugar dissolves, usually 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Fit food processor container with metal knife blade. Divide the
chocolate pieces into four batches for standard size machines and three
batches for larger processors. Process one batch at a time, first pulsing
several times to break up pieces, then run machine continuously until
chocolate is ground to consistency of small beads. Add each batch of
chocolate pieces to ground chocolate already in container.

4. With all chocolate in the container and the machine running, pour half
of the hot butter and sugar mixture through food chute within 45 seconds.
Scrape down container sides and check to be sure all chocolate is
dissolved. Transfer contents of processor container to saucepan with
remaining butter mixture. Beat eggs in a small bowl. Stir into warm
chocolate mixture.

5. Pour chocolate mixture into prepared cake pan. Bake at 250 degrees 2
hours, or until center is just set. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover
loosely and refrigerate in cake pan until firm, preferably overnight. (Cake
may be prepared to this stage, as long as a week in advance.)

6. Shortly before serving, invert cake onto a serving platter, carefully
peeling off aluminum foil. Refrigerate. Put dry food processor container,
metal knife blade and lid in freezer for 6 minutes, then put in place on
base. Put confectioners? sugar and half of the cream in container. Process
30 seconds and, with machine running, pour remaining cream through food
chute within 30 seconds and continue processing until cream whips to firm,
thick peaks.

7. Frost the cake with two-thirds of the whipped cream. Use remainder to
pipe shell border around the bottom edge of cake and pipe additional
decorative garnishes on top of cake. Once frosted, cake may be refrigerated
for several hours before serving.

NOTE: When I make the cake, I don?t frost it with whipping cream and do not
invert on a platter. My crowd usually isn?t big enough to eat the whole
cake. So the cake doesn?t go to waste, I use a springform pan. I remove the
cake from the springform pan and remove the aluminum foil with care, except
from the bottom. Put a doily on a pretty platter or cake stand, and dust
the top with confectioners? sugar. Since this cake is so rich, I cut small
wedges and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.