Once, Happy Boy and I dumpster-dived about five pounds of Scharffen Berger chocolate from the Semifreddis in Emeryville. It was perfectly fine chocolate, just a few weeks past its due date. "Chocolate has a due date?" I said, "News to me."
...I miss those Semifreddis dumpsters. sigh...
I've made this chocolate cake, or Le Marquis, as Julia Childs calls it, several times with that dumpstered chocolate and it never fails to amaze the taste buds and make the heart swoon. A few people have asked me, doesn't it take a lot of time to make that cake? I look at them blankly and shrug. I guess so, but it seems worth the time to me. It's a freaking chocolate cloud!! It's fun to melt the chocolate over a double boiler! It's fun to separate the eggs and then make the sugar ribbon and the egg whites glisten! It's fun to alternate folding in the flour and egg whites. And most of all it's fun to eat! And it makes your house smell a-mazing!
Le Marquis (Chocolate Sponge Cake) by Julia Childs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour a round 8 inch cake pan.
In a double boiler melt the following:
3 1/2 ounces of semisweet baking chocolate
2 T strong coffee
3 1/2 T softened butter
Set aside, while you proceed.
Separate three eggs.
Beat the 3 egg yolks in a mixing bowl, gradually adding 1/2 C granulated sugar, until the mixture is thick, pale yellow, and forms a ribbon (as pictured above).
Beat the 3 egg whites and pinch of salt together in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed, sprinkle on 1 T of sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
Fold the tepid chocolate and butter into the batter , then fold in one fourth of the egg whites. When partially blended, sift on one fourth of the 1/3 C of flour and continue folding, alternating rapidly with more egg whites and more flour until all are incorporated.
Immediately turn batter into prepared cake pan and run it up to the rim. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes or until cake has puffed 1/4 inch above the rim and top has cracked. Test skewer should come out clean.
Let cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around the inside of the pan and reverse onto a rack. When cool dust with powdered sugar.
