Sounds like it should be to halfway up the cake pan to me.

How nice of you to make this for your friend Fran, I'm sure she'll love your effort. Hope it turns out beautifully.

Best of Luck!

It's halfway up the sides of the 9" pan. This is what's called a water bath; it assures even baking. Basically your "cake" is a chocolate custard. You'd do the same with any flourless cheesecake to prevent cracking.

It's a perfectly rational question. A lot of recipes assume instructions are clear when it isn't necessarily so.

Good luck. This is a kind thing to do for your friend.

Carol

Halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (If you put it halfway up the sides of the roasting pan, it would probably overflow into the cake pan.) This is a standard way of doing a water bath.

Good luck! I can't think of anything I'd want more than a chocolate torte if I were about to have knee surgery. You're a nice friend.

Did you get enough versions of the very same answer all at once? ;o)

Thanks so much for the quick response.

I was thinking it was up the sides of the cake pan, but wasn't quite sure.

The pic from a magazine show this cake cut into very small wedges and it serves 16 people.

Sounds like it will be one super rich chocolate taste of a "cake".

If it passes the "chocoholic's" taste test, not only in taste but also a cake, I will post the recipe.

Fran

Fran,
Please do post the recipe. I'm always looking for desserts for passover and this one is parve as well, which is not always easy to find. It sounds very chocolaty and rich.

Fran

This is almost identical to La bete Noire on epicurious.com. That one uses more than a pound of chocolate and butter but truely is to die for. Made in a 10" springform it serves at least 16 - probably more.

I have made it often, both because it is flourless (hence will meet the needs of a Passover cake as well as meeting dh's Gluten free diet requirements) and can be made pareve by subbing out the butter. DH can't have hydrogenated fat so I've used grape seed oil and while not as good as butter it is still very impressive. I've also used almond milk for the ganache - yumm.

You'd need to use dairy free chocolate as well if you want it pareve.

It pairs particularly well with raspberries (place one on each wedge before cutting cake) and swirl some raspberry coulis on the plate and it is rich as Croesus.

Oh and having said all my subs let me tell you I've made it as written tons of times, have given it as Birthday Gifts and even had one sell at auction for over $100.

OH, OH, OH. This past the super, super chocoholic's taste test without question. It's a keeper, made her feel wonderful, left my house smelling of chocolate and no doubt will last for at least a day.

I will post the recipe in a separate post but still have several questions to ask, since I've never baked anything in a water bath before in more than 30 years of cooking.

So the questions are these.

#1

The recipe states to coarsely chop the chocolate, then combine both types of chocolate in a food processor and finely grind.

Then it states to bring 1 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water to a boil.

Then with food processor running add boiling sugar syrup to chocolate through the feeding tube, add margarine, 2 tablespoons at a time. add eggs and process until smooth. then pour into pan.

I don't have a food processor, so once the sugar syrup came to a boil, I turned of the heat and then I added the chopped chocolate, chopped as finely as I could with a chef knife, stiring, until it quickly melted, then added the margarine till melted then the eggs, stirred quite well and then used a hand wisk to be sure it was really smooth. then put in the pan.

Do you think that would make any difference versus using the food processor?

#2.

The only unsalted margarine I had in the house was mazola stick corn oil margarine. I never buy butter of any kind and the only other margarine I use is smart balance with omega 3. Which by the way has lowered my hubbies cholesterol level so much that he is bordering on not needing meds any more and kept mine very low.
I use the mazola corn oil margarine for all baking that I do as I can get in unsalted.

#3

I ran into a huge problem with a roasting pan to put the 9 inch cake pan in and fit the only racks that I had that would keep the cake pan low enough to fill half way with hot water.

Just can fit a rectangular cake racks in an oval pan.

I ended up having to use my huge turkey roasting pan that will hold a 30 pound turkey so it claims. Can't even begin to imagine trying to lift that heavy pan with that size turkey in it.

Anyways, the rack fit in the pan and the cake on top of it perfectly.

BUT, this cake was supposed to take 25 minutes to bake. I know my oven works properly and the heat temp is correct. I just checked it a few days ago because another recipe I had took longer to bake than was listed in the directions.

Anyways it took about 55 minutes before a knife inserted in the center came out with just a few specks of chocolate clinging to it.

The hot water I used was from the sink running with hot water. That hot water is set high enough that when it is on full hot water, you can't put your hands in it and need rubber gloves.

I filled the pan with the water, then took the cake pan out, put the pan in the oven and then put the cake in on top of the rack. I was afraid that I might get water in the cake.

Do you think that the problem was the temp of the water? or the size of the pan I had to put the rack in and the cake on top of it. or do you think there was an error in the time listed in the recipe? or do you think it might have been the corn oil margarine? or any of the above?

Oh, yes, since my friend lives only about 20 minutes away, the cake was still warm when I brought it to her, and it says to serve either warm or cold. We had it warm and it was almost like a warm piece of fudge, very filling, but 3 people ate half of the cake. I only had a small bite as I really don't like chocolate at all.

Thanks in advance for any opinions on my questions.

Fran

Fran,

My similar torte takes 50 min to an hour as well. It's also done in a water bath and cooked till the middle stops jiggling. If your water was tap hot that was fine.

I think you may have misread the instructions for the bain marie/water bath. At least I have never heard of using a rack within the water bath. And maybe that's what also effected the cooking time. I put my pan straight on the bottom of the water bath, pour the hot water into the water bath container and bake like that.

If the roasting pan was very deep that could have effected the cooking time.

Did you use a springform? Did you wrap it well with aluminum foil?

Finally, are you INSANE?! j/k but how on earth can you not like chocolate??? Actually if I had that problem I'd probably weigh 100 pounds less ;-)

Loves,

you are not the first to ask me if I am insane about chocolate. It just isn't something that I really like.

Very small amounts of it are more than enough to last me for a year.

I have a son who will be 31 and he would starve to death before he ate chocolate.

As for the recipe and misreading it, I don't think I did, but maybe?

It specifically reads "pour chocolate mixture into cake pan. Place pan in roasting pan on rack in center of oven. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of pan.

Could it be the rack they are referring to is the rack in the oven and not a rack inside the roasting pan?

if that is the case then the pan would fit inside my 9x13 inch roasting pan.

The turkey roasting pan was fairly deep.

I didn't use a springform pan and I didn't wrap it with aluminum foil either. the recipe said to use a 9 inch cake pan, butter the pan, then place parchment paper on the botton and butter the parchment paper as well.

Fran

Yes Fran, they did mean that the oven rack should be in the middle of the oven. They just don't want the top to cook too fast with the oven rack too high and such. Yes, usually a 9x13 pan will do the job of a water bath. You did a great job working with such a big roasting pan though. Smiles. Glad it turned out well for the chocolate lover. You're a good friend.

Fran

As you read that you put the cake pan IN the roasting pan then you put the roasting pan ON the rack that is placed in the middle of the oven, or if you prefer instructions in reverse: Oven rack in middle of oven, roasting pan on that rack, cake pan in the roaster. The fact you had water under your pan as well could have been why the cake took longer to bake especially if your heating element is in the bottom of your oven. The water acted as a layer of insulation which is the intent to prevent the sides from overcooking before the middle is done.

Next time try the 9 by 13 roaster. I use the drip tray that came with my ovens. It's large enough for my 10" springform pan and allows the water half way up the sides of the springform without being too deep.

And I guess I am just plain envious of those of you without a sweet tooth. Our family joke is that Mom doesn't have a sweet tooth, she has a mouthful of sweet teeth :)

OH, I have a sweet tooth, don't misunderstand that one. It's just not for chocolate.

I could live on red twizzlers, white chocolate, soft serve vanilla, pistachio ice cream, just not chocolate.

OH, do I feel dumb now. Honest, i used that huge turkey pan, put the 9X13 inch rack in it. put the cake pan on top and filled and filled the pan with hot water. Then took the cake pan out of the water bath and put the turkey pan in the oven, then put the cake back in the pan on the rack, INSIDE THE TURKEY ROASTING PAN, because I was afraid of getting water in the cake.

Will sure be easier to make this now that you all of corrected my error.

So none of you think there was any problem with using the mazola corn oil stick margarine, or melting the chocolate and adding the eggs in a pot on the stove, since I don't have a food processor?

Hubby is going to love this correction. I've been stalling in making one for him because I didn't want to use that turkey pan again. It was so, so heavy and my aching back didn't appreciate lifting it and he couldn't help.
He's in a cast with a broken wrist.

Well, he's going to feel a lot, lot better tomorrow, cause the chocoholic I live with is going to get his cake made.

Fran, who is feeling quite embarrassed right now, and should have asked all of you the question first, not after the fact.

It sounds as if you arrived at the perfect alternative method. Since the cake turned out wonderful without the food processor, using the margarine you had, (and three people ate half!) I wouldn't worry about it.

Now you can make #2 for that chocolate-loving husband without the challenges of cake #1.

Carol

The last question on this one is,

Should I post the recipe on this forum or the recipe exchange forum, or both

and yes, looking forward to making the cake the "correct way" later today. Will make the impending huge snowstorm a little more tolerable.

Fran

Fran

you can definitely post the recipe in both places. Even better, take some pics as you make the cake and of the finished one so we can all live vicariously through you.

Typing with a chewy chocolate chip brownie right next to the keyboard.

Please post that recipe! Good for you for asking questions and for reporting back! The recipe sounds fabulous, especially w/ my wheat and dairy restrictions. BTW, I use Fleishman's unsalted margarine for excellent results in baking, however, I will try the grapeseed oil as a sub to see how that works out!

Your cake turned out great so that means the margarine was fine. The method you used is just right. After all, we didn't always have food processors. You did a great job.

I think you should post the recipe here on the whats for dessert thread. Also posting on the recipe exchange would be nice.

Ya done good gal. Hope you're proud of yourself. Lucky Hubby.

Actually, I think your method sounds like a better idea. Chopping the chocolate fine with a food processor sounds totally unnecessary and the idea of pouring boiling hot sugar syrup into a food processor makes me cringe. That sugar syrup holds so much heat and sticks where it splashes. It can really burn. Maybe it is because I'm kind of short, but the idea of lifting the pan high enough to pour into the feed tube of the food processor and then pouring would worry me. I can visualize slipping up and having it splash or spill.

Am I the only one who finds it kind of funny that the recipe asks for x oz of unsweetened chocolate and y oz of semisweet plus a certain amount of sugar? Couldn't it just as well said all unsweetened plus more sugar or all semisweet plus less sugar? Why have two sweetness levels of chocolate?

Cloud swift, I'm short too, under 5 feet by a bit and I don't like the idea of pouring the sugar water either and it is sticky.

Not sure about changing the chocolates or the sugar, but hubby was just looking over my shoulder, read what you said and his comment was "don't you dare change a thing in this recipe."

Wonder though, if he would notice any changes as long as it was rich enough and tasted chocolate enough.

I'll let someone else here on the board attempt the changes. I had enough trouble figuring out the recipe.

As for the 9x13 inch roasting pan and the 9 inch cake pan didn't like each other very much.
Roasting pan had the last laugh, as the cake pan wouldn't fit in it.

So took out my oval deeper roasting pan that is very sturdy but light weight and that worked fine.
Only thing is that it is 4 inches deep. So if baking time is affected by how deep the roasting pan is, that explains that the cake was still not done in 25 minutes, just like the first time I made the cake.
It took about 45-50 minutes, but that was fine and it was easy to take in and out of the oven.

I posted the recipe on the what's for dessert thread and on the recipe exchange forum as well.

Loves, here are some pics.

8 oz chopped unsweetened chocolate

4oz chopped semisweet chocloate

1 cup margarine and 5 eggs

9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper ready to use

oval roasting pan ready for the cake to go in

sugar water waiting to boil

"cake batter" ready to pour into pan

cake pan in roasting pan ready for the oven

cake done and cooling on rack

cake done and on plate

piece of cake before hubby attacked it.

Here is a link that might be useful: what's for desert thread, recipe for

Oooh, yumm!!! Now that looks good - if only we lived in the world of Willy Wonka and could transport food over the TV or in this case the computer.