This is a variation of the website’s Cathy’s Banana Bread recipe, which is incredibly popular and tasty. This version incorporates the advice of other reviewers to combine white and brown sugar and to use butter rather than margarine. Some coconut and cinnamon are also present. With the banana and the chocolate, the coconut tastes and smells lovely, toasts beautifully on top, and adds wonderful texture.
| Prep Time: | 35 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 20 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 9-inch cake |
Ingredients
- ½ cup white sugar
- 10 (1 ounce) squares semi-sweet chocolate
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 eggs, separated
- ¼ cup sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 dash cream of tartar
- salt to taste
- ½ tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Generously grease a 9-inch springform cake tin. Dust with a little sugar, and tap out excess.
- Set aside 3 tablespoons of sugar. Place chocolate, butter, and remaining sugar in a large, heavy-based pan. Cook over moderate heat until chocolate and butter have melted, and sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from heat. Stir in vanilla, and leave mixture to cool slightly.
- Beat egg yolks into chocolate mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour.
- In a scrupulously clean, grease-free, and large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt, and beat to stiff peaks. Sprinkle reserved sugar over egg whites, and beat until stiff and glossy. Use a whisk or spatula to fold 1/3 of egg whites into chocolate mixture, then carefully fold in remaining whites. Carefully pour batter into the prepared tin, and tap the tin gently to release air bubbles.
- Bake until well risen and a skewer inserted into center of the cake comes out clean, for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check cake after 30 minutes; if cake appears to rise unevenly, rotate after 30 to 35 minutes. If cake starts to crack or become too brown, place a piece of foil lightly over top. Transfer cake to a wire cooling rack, and remove the sides of the springform tin. Cool completely, and then remove the base. Do not attempt to remove cake before it’s completely cooled as this cake is very fragile.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 294 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 108 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Sodium | 31 mg |
| Sugars | 21 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I’ve been stirring over medium heat for at least 15 minutes and I still have granulation.
I made this yesterday during an active time in my kitchen, mistakenly thinking I could multitask. After cake had been in oven around 10 minutes I realized I had forgotten to add the balance of the sugar after the initial 3 T. I was nervous cake would be terrible and it was great, even without sugar. I did dust with confectioners sugar, so maybe that made up for forgotten sugar. In any case, it was terrific and well received
This recipe is a winner and I’ll definitely make it again. I rarely bake and found this recipe easy to follow and make. I made two small changes. First, I lined my pan with parchment paper. The cake came right out, no sticking at all. Second, I used a square pan as I could not locate my round pan. No change to the bake time. I served with raspberry sauce and some whipped cream. Thank you for submitting this delicious recipe.
Delicious cake, just as the recipe is written. No substitutions or changes needed. I served it with a raspberry coulis & whipped cream, which complimented the cake very well. It was better the second day. One note, the cake is very time-consuming to make, taking almost an hour to make, as well as almost an hour to bake, so be forewarned. It’s not difficult, though.
Moist, decadent, intense chocolate flavor. I will make this again!
Delicious and light because of folding in the egg whites. I thought it would be heavy, but no. Husband said, honey this has such delicious flavor.” ??
I helped a teenage friend make this recipe for her French class, and I liked it so well that I decided to bake it again for Easter! The only change I made was to cook it only 35 minutes, since my springform pan was larger than 9 inches. The flavor and texture were wonderful! The cake does tend to fall slightly in the middle as it cools . . . but as you can see from the photo, I guess it is supposed to be that way.
I’ve made this about 8 times and it’s great for birthdays. Each person can make it as sweet as they want with whipped cream and fruit. I always use the European butter. According to our French exchange students, it tastes like the cakes their moms make at home. A winner!
Honestly, I wasn’t going to rate this one, because I did t have all the ingredients, so I substituted! (When a pregnant lady has a craving, she’ll try anything!) even though I subsist used oil for the butter and used slightly less chocolate (it was all I had in the house), it came out wonderful! Not as dense (for lack of the butter) but almost fluffy but with an excellent flavor. Next time I want to try it with all the right ingredients! Yummy!!!
Not at all impressed with this. Easy enough to make, but I think it’s quite bland. This is more like a brownie than a cake.
This is so good! I am not a big fan of chocolate cake, but I love this one. I did use bitter sweet chocolate chips instead semi-sweet. I put whipped cream and raspberries on top. I will make it again.
I was concerned about the cake having only 1/4c flour so I doubled it and it turned out to be about the consistency of a brownie. Everyone loved the flavor and it was very pretty with the powdered sugar sprinkled over the top. I will make again. It would be very good with a raspberry sauce or drizzled with a chocolate syrup. Update: I’ve made this cake several times without adding more flour and it is wonderful as written! I do sometimes substitute bittersweet for some of the semi-sweet to give it a richer chocolate taste. Fantastic!
One word…….heavenly!
I have made this cake three times now and even though the second and third ones never looked as good as the first, they were all delicious. My third cake looked like a sunken soufflé, and even the Chocolate Ganache recipe I poured over it couldn’t hide its’ sadness, but it was a big hit with everyone who ate it. The perfect chocolate fix!
This was as close to the chocolate cake I ate in Paris.
my boyfriend is from france and this was a huge hit! i cant wait to make this for his family when they come to visit us. i added 9 ounces of semi sweet chocolate and 1 ounce of dark choocolate. as well i added some coco powder to the flour 1 table spoon. i added my own glaze ontop. will make again!!!!!!!!!
Turned out perfectly as written.
I did not add cream of tartar, because I do not keep it on hand. I added a bit a baking powder to keep it from sinking and help it rise better while baking. Cream of Tartar, is to help stabilize the egg whites. I was reading substitutes for this product, so in the future I can add a product that does the same thing. Salt is not a substitute for cream of tartar, lemon juice or vinegar, may be added as a substitute to the egg whites to help stabilize them. Substitute lemon juice or vinegar for cream of tartar in your recipes at a ratio of 3 to 1. 1 dash cream of tartar would be 3 dashes or drops, I suppose would be the liquid equivalent of a dash, of either lemon juice or vinegar. It should not be enough, with only several drops to flavor the product but only stabilize your egg whites.
I made this for our Valentine’s Dessert tonight. Oh. My. God. AMAZING! I thought it sounded like a lot of work when I first read the instructions, but it was actually really quick and easy! I cooked mine in a flan pan instead of the spring-form, so it cooked in about 45 mins. I covered it with a half batch of chocolate ganache (1/2 cup good quality semi sweet chocolate chips melted with 1/2 cup whipping cream and a splash of real vanilla) I’m for sure adding this to my list of favorite recipes!
Amazing!!! Rich, dark, dense and delicious! Must serve with Satiny Chocolate Glaze from this site along with fresh raspberries. You won’t regret the extra time it takes to prepare this sinfulness!
We liked this cake. I made it for Christmas Day dinner. Instead of a 9-inch springform pan, I used two 7″ springform pans and baked them for about 40 minutes, or until they were puffy and tested clean. The great thing about this cake is that once it cools down, it pulls aways from the pan by itself. So taking the ring off is easy. If I know I might be giving one away, I trace the bottom pan over a cardboard circle, cover it in aluminum foil and press that down into the springform pan. That way if I want to leave it behind, I don’t have to worry about having the pan bottom returned to me. I used TJ dark chocolate in the big Belgium bar. I also covered it with the Satiny Chocolate Glaze from this site, and served it with fresh raspberries on the side. Not too sweet, not too dense either, just a pleasant mouthful of chocolate goodness. I’m going to see if I can make it sugar free next time! Lovely recipe.