Zuni Cafe's flourless chocolate cake

Judy Rodgers passed away a while ago, but her (and others') restaurant lives on. Michael Bauer of the SF Chronicle was reviewing it again re being one of his 100 best restaurant picks, and he happened to bring up the chocolate cake. Uh oh..

Here's the recent small article, followed by a cake picture and the recipe from an earlier article - the recipe that apparently has a logged quite a history.

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2014/04/16/zuni-cafe-still-on-top-of-its-game/

I hadn’t been back to Zuni Cafe since the death of Judy Rodgers, and since I’m running out of time on Top 100 visits, I couldn’t put it off any longer.

Yesterday I returned, and found much the same as it has always been: the artsy crowd that mixes effortlessly with business execs and families with toddlers in tow; and the less-than-enthusiastic hosts that try to seat everyone upstairs, even though the downstairs is empty.

Most importantly, the food remains excellent, particularly the hamburger on rosemary focaccia, the house-cured anchovies, the daily fish special and the Gateau Victoire, a rich chocolate cake that has been on the menu much of the time since the restaurant opened in 1979. That chocolate cake was so good we ran a recipe for it in the Chef’s Secrets column in the Food & Wine section.


Some of the earlier article (Michael Bauer writing again) w/recipe:


One of the never-allowed-to-leave-the-menu desserts is the chocolate flourless cake, which has been served at the restaurant since Kathi Riley Smith was the chef in the 1980s.

Once you've tasted it, however, you'll know why. I've never been a fan of flourless cakes, but this is one different.

Instead of being wet and sticky, as many are, this is soft and has a fine-grained texture, almost as if it had a little flour. It has a bold chocolate flavor, which is cut with a generous dollop of whipped cream.

The origin of the recipe is somewhat murky. Smith apparently got it from Margaret Fox, former chef and co-owner of the popular Cafe Beaujolais in Mendocino. Fox says that she got the recipe from a Julia Child cookbook.
No doubt it's been tweaked over the years. No matter: The cake has timeless appeal.

The secrets
Coffee: Strong dark-roast brewed coffee is added to the chocolate cake batter to intensify the flavor.
Whipped cream: This cuts the intensity of the chocolate and sets up the palate for the next bite.


Zuni Gateau Victoire
Serves 10

This flourless chocolate cake recipe is adapted from Zuni Cafe, where chef-owner Judy Rodgers says it's been on the menu non-stop since Kathi Smith was chef in the mid 1980s.

-- Unsalted butter for coating the pan
3/4 pound E. Guittard Premium 61% cacao semisweet dark chocolate
6 tablespoons strong, brewed dark roast coffee
5 large eggs
2 large yolks
6 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon whipping cream
-- Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving
Ingredients: Butter a round 9-inch cake pan. Cut out a 9-inch parchment round and a long strip to line the bottom and the sides, and butter again. Set aside, along with a second, larger pan that will easily contain the prepared pan. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°.

In a stainless steel bowl over hot water (the bowl should not touch the water), melt chocolate with the coffee. Stir until smooth and keep warm.

Meanwhile, combine eggs, yolks and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over hot water and stir until mixture warms to room temperature. Return the bowl to the stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment on medium speed for about 15 minutes, until quadrupled in size.

In a separate bowl, whip cream until it forms soft peaks.

Fold 1/4 of the egg mixture into the warm chocolate until it becomes all one color, then pour it and the whipped cream into the rest of the egg mixture. Fold gently to combine, until everything is nearly uniform in color.

Pour into the prepared 9-inch cake pan. Place cake pan into the bigger baking pan set on the oven shelf then fill with 1-inch very hot water, best just off a boil. Bake until the cake registers 175° in the center on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 hours. Check every half hour, rotating the cake as needed. If it begins to brown on the edges, reduce the oven temperature to 325°.

Remove the cake from water bath; let sit for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto a plate and let sit another 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the cake, then carefully peel off paper. Flip the cake back over onto a serving plate so it is right-side up again. It's easiest to cut now, while just warm to the touch. Use a cheese wire or thin slicing knife that has been heated in hot water before cutting each slice then wiped dry between the cuts.

Though the cake can be served slightly warm, the texture and flavor is even better after it has been chilled through or refrigerated at least 1-2 hours. Return to room temperature before serving.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Take out of the refrigerator 2-3 hours before serving.
Serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Per serving: 287 calories, 5 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 19 g fat (10 g saturated), 167 mg cholesterol, 42 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
Michael Bauer is The San Francisco Chronicle's restaurant critic. E-mail: [email protected]