Fluffy Flourless Chocolate Cake with Bailey's Whipped Cream

This cake is not your usual dense and moist homemade chocolate cake. Nope, this cake is so incredibly light and fluffy that you might find yourself going back for another piece because one just didn't cut it! I decided to make chocolate ganache to be the filling for my cake, and I'm so glad I did. It added a delicious fudgyness that wouldn't have otherwise been there. At the time I had been out of heavy whipping cream (sad face) so I decided to go with a whipped Bailey's buttercream frosting instead. Bailey's is probably one of my favorite frosting flavors, ever. It was very good, though next time I will go with a Bailey's whipped cream frosting. I also cut the recipe in half, as it is just my husband and me, so that's why my cake only has two layers.

Fluffy Flourless Chocolate Cake

12 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

6 tablespoons water

12 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

1 1/3 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

To Make cake layers: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease four 9-inch circular cake pans and line bottoms of circles with a piece of parchment paper.

Melt chocolate with water in a small heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring. Cool to lukewarm.

In your stand mixer, beat yolks, 2/3 cup sugar, and salt until thick and pale for about 5 minutes.  Stir in melted chocolate until combined.  In a separate HUGE bowl, beat 12 egg whites until they hold stiff peaks (clean your beaters).  I use hand held mixer with a very large stainless steel bowl for this-

Add remaining sugar and beat until whites just hold stiff peaks. Fold one third of whites into melted-chocolate mixture, then fold in remaining whites carefully.

Spread batter evenly over four baking pans.   Bake until the cake has puffed and the top is dry to the touch, maybe 16 minutes.  I rotated my cake pans once to ensure they cooked evenly.  Once the cake is done, cool the cake pans on cooling racks for about 10 minutes.

If you wish, sift cocoa powder over top of cake layers.  Then place a piece of waxed paper over the top of the cake pans. Place a cookie sheet over paper and invert cake onto it, gently peeling off wax paper lining. For best results, place all of the layers in the freezer for at least 2 hours or until they are firm enough to be carefully lifted without breaking.

Chocolate Ganache Filling

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.

Allow the ganache to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.

Bailey's Whipped Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

4 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted

4 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur

*or substitute 4 tablespoons cocoa and 1 teaspoon vanilla for the liqueur.

Directions:

Combine heavy cream, powdered sugar and Bailey’s in a clean bowl, and whip until stiff peaks form.

Cake assembly:

Remove cakes from freezer, and place one cake on a serving plate. Spread 1/3 of the chocolate ganache over cake layer, and then repeat with second and third cake layers. Place the fourth and final layer on top, and frost cake with the whipped cream. Sprinkle with miniature chocolate chips, if desired.

Cake Recipe Adapted from Gluten Free Mommy 

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

When I saw a recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cookies on Pinterest, I knew I had to try them. I baked them up and was pretty happy with the results. These cookies are almost like thin brownies. Pleasantly crisp on the outside, yet chewy and fudgy. My only complaint was that they were a little too sweet for my taste. 
As soon as I took a bite I knew they needed something to cut the sweetness, so I whipped up some cream and viola! The ice cream sandwich was born. I stuck my little cookie sandwiches in the freezer and a few hours later I was in love. I've tried freezing regular chocolate chip cookies with ice cream in the middle before, only to find that it was impossible to bite into the frozen cookie. Not fun! However when these were frozen, they stayed chewy and soft and absolutely delicious! The second time I made these I changed things up a little. It was a winner for me! I will put my version of the cookies below, but feel free to check out my source if you'd like to see the original measurements.


Flourless Chocolate Cookies


2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cups mini bittersweet chocolate chips


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (or silpat mats). If you use parchment paper, give it a light swoosh of nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar with cocoa powder and salt. Whisk in egg whites (start w/ just two) and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened. You're looking for a brownie-like, thick and fudgy batter consistency. If it seems too thick, add another egg white-- then a 4th one if it still seems too thick. Gently stir in chocolate chips.
3. Spoon batter onto the prepared baking sheet and carefully spread evenly with a spatula. Bake about 14 minutes, until the top is glossy and lightly cracked. Slide the parchment paper onto a wire rack. Let cool completely, and then use a pizza cutter to cut into squares.
*Alternatively, spoon the cookies into 12 equal  mounds onto 2 parchment lined cookie sheets, and bake.


Filling:
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 T powdered sugar
1 cup vanilla ice cream, softened


Whip the cream on high in a stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer. When it starts to get frothy add the powdered sugar, and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overwhip.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the softened ice cream. Spoon or pipe onto cookies, and carefully place a second cookie on top, taking care not to apply too much pressure. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and place in freezer for at least 3 hours.
If you'd like to dip them in sprinkles, do so after the filling has hardened in the freezer for a while.

Cookies adapted from kumquat