Flourless Chocolate Cake with Coconut Lime Sorbet and Raspberry Coulis

This cake is a chocoholic's dream come true. Unless your dream is to live in a world made of chocolate houses, streets and cars, like on the Hershey's commercials. It can't really compete with that. But it is very rich and fudgy (a little goes a long way). And because it's flourless, it's good for gluten-free diets and great for Passover. I actually did make the coconut lime sorbet, but I never managed to snap a photo of the finished product (I was little off my game - I guess because I was in my sister's kitchen and not on my home turf). It doesn't take much for me to feel discombobulated. The other day I forgot to wear deodorant and I just felt off all day. Or maybe it was because I forgot to take my meds. It could go either way.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH

COCONUT LIME SORBET AND RASPBERRY COULIS

Yield: one (10-inch) cake (at least 12 servings)

Coconut Lime Sorbet:

1 (15 oz.) can cream of coconut (preferably Coco Lopez)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Raspberry Coulis:

1 (10 oz.) package frozen raspberries, defrosted for 1 hour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Flourless Chocolate Cake:

8 oz. fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 sticks unsalted butter (or Passover margarine)

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 large eggs

2 teaspoons coffee liquor (such as Kahlua) or vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (plus additional for sprinkling)

Coconut Lime Sorbet:

Whisk together ingredients. Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker. Transfer sorbet to an airtight container and freeze for several hours to harden. Make ahead.

Raspberry Coulis:

Purée raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids. Can be made up to 3 days ahead (keep chilled).

Flourless Chocolate Cake:

1.      Preheat oven to 350° F. and butter a 10-inch springform pan.  Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and butter the paper.

2.      In a double boiler, melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth.  Remove bowl from heat and whisk in sugar. Add eggs and liquor; whisk well. Sift 1 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined.

3.      Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 35 to 40 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust.  Transfer pan to a rack. When cool, run a knife around the outside of the cake and carefully remove the outer ring.

4.      Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet and raspberry coulis. Cake keeps, after being cooled completely (in an airtight container) for up to 1 week.

adapted from Gourmet Magazine, November 1997
(with many suggestions from fsilverman of Brooklyn, NY)

limes

juicing a lime

cream of coconut (the thick cream rises to
the top, just like with regular coconut milk)

cream of coconut in a bowl

whisked with lime juice and water

As I mentioned earlier, I forgot to take photos of the frozen sorbet.
I loved the coconut-lime flavors, but I did think it was a little too
sweet. I think next time I would try making it again with plain
coconut milk and add sugar (or another sweetener) to taste.

squeezing lemon juice over the raspberries

adding sugar

pureed

straining out the seeds

raspberry coulis

butter and chocolate (I used Callebaut bittersweet)

adding sugar

whisking in the eggs and kahlua

adding cocoa
(it was a little lumpy, I probably should have sifted it in)

batter in the pan

baked

cooled and ring removed

I used a squeeze bottle for the raspberry coulis,
but you can just drizzle some with a spoon.

.