Serves: 8
Named after chef Perla Servan-Schreiber’s grandson, Arthur this delicious chocolate gâteau will have you coming back for seconds.
Ingredients
- 10½ oz. (300 g) dark chocolate, 70% cacao
- 3 tbsp black coffee (or 1 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 3 tbsp boiling water)
- 1¾ sticks (7 oz./200 g) salted butter, thinly sliced and softened
- 5 eggs
- 1⅓ cups (6 oz./180 g) confectioners’ sugar, divided, plus extra for dredging
To serve
Directions
1Remove a rack from the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C/Gas mark 2). Stand a 9½-in. (24-cm) non-stick shallow cake pan (preferably silicone) on the rack to make it easier to transfer to the oven when filled with cake batter.
2Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl with the coffee and butter. Microwave on full power for 1 minute to melt the butter and partially melt the chocolate, making sure the mixture doesn’t boil. There will still be some half-melted pieces of chocolate, so work it with a spatula until they melt and the chocolate is perfectly smooth. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate, coffee, and butter together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until smooth.
3Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in one large bowl and the whites in another. Add ¾ cup (3½ oz./100 g) of the confectioners’ sugar to the egg yolks and whisk with an electric beater until pale and foamy. Wash and dry the beaters, and then whip the whites with the remaining confectioners’ sugar until firm peaks form. Whisk the melted chocolate mixture into the egg yolks until smooth. Using a spatula, gradually fold in the whites until no streaks remain, taking care not to deflate them.
4Pour the batter into the pan, slide the rack back into the oven, and bake for 22–25 minutes until the cake is set but still soft in the center.
5If you have used a non-stick rather than a silicone pan, let the cake cool for 20 minutes before turning it out onto a serving plate. Let cool to room temperature. If you have used silicone, let the cake cool in the pan, and turn it out when ready to serve. The cake can be left at room temperature for several hours but do not refrigerate it. At the last minute, dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar and serve with Crème Anglaise.
Extracted from Enjoy: Recipes for Memorable Gatherings by Perla Servan-Schreiber (Flammarion, 2020).
