Chocolate Cassis Cake is Perfect for a Special Occasion

Who doesn’t like cake? Raise your hand. Who doesn’t like chocolate? Raise your hand. Who doesn’t like chocolate cake with a little kick of extra special liqueur? Raise you hand. Nope, I didn’t think I’d see any raised hands. Good, because today, I’m sharing a delicious Chocolate Cassis Cake that is perfect for a special occasion. Have a birthday celebration coming up? An anniversary? This is the recipe you should make. No questions asked. Hands down.

I first found this recipe a few weeks ago on a website for foodies with the headline “Giada’s Favorite Birthday Cake”. Click. Turns out it’s a recipe from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Click. I watched a video of Ina and Giada making the cake together, and thought, ” that looks worth trying” because 1. it’s chocolate and 2. it has a liqueur ~ créme de cassis ~ in it and 3. I’ve never made a flourless cake and 4. I love almost everything that Ina does.

I definitely had to bake this cake. So I did and we loved it. So much that earlier this week I taught how to make the chocolate cassis cake as the dessert course in a cooking class. And now I’m going to show you. Have a seat, pour yourself a glass of iced tea or a cup of coffee, and join me for baking class.

Chocolate Cassis Cake is Perfect for a Special Occasion

How to Make Chocolate Cassis Cake

Gather your ingredients.

Measure your ingredients. Pre~heat your oven to 350°F.

Prepare your springform pan by spraying with cooking spray, lining bottom and sides with parchment paper and spraying again. This Friday on The Bulletin, I’ll be sharing step~by~step directions on how to prepare parchment for lining a cake pan. Sign~up for the newsletter to receive these instructions.

Make the batter.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heat~proof bowl, over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Add the unsweetened cocoa powder, cassis, and vanilla extract. Stir until completely smooth.

In a mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs, sugar and salt on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes until pale yellow and tripled in volume.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, folding together with a rubber spatula, until completely combined. The chocolate does tend to sink to the bottom of the pan, so use the spatula to “dig” down and pull the chocolate up into to the egg mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 ~ 40 minutes, until just barely set in the center. Check with a wooden skewer for doneness. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then release the sides of the pan. Invert the cake onto a flat plate, remove the parchment paper and cool completely.

Make the glaze

Melt the chocolate and cream together in an heat~proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth.

TIP: Use the same bowl and same pan you used to make the batter.

Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the cassis and vanilla extract. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Spread the glaze over the top of the cake, allowing glaze to spill down the sides of the cake. Use an off~set spatula to smooth the glaze over the top of the cake and down the sides. Decorate the cake with berries and mint, if you like. I did this, just for fun.

Make the garnish

Fifteen minutes before serving, hull and slice the strawberries and combine with the raspberries in a bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup cassis and 1/3 cup sugar and let sit.

Cut the cake into wedges and serve with the berries on the side.

TIP: You could also use Chambord or another fruit~based liqueur.

The Recipe

Everyone at the cooking class loved this cake. Although there is no baking powder or baking soda, the cake still rises since the eggs act as a leavener. It does have a bit different texture since there is no flour. The Crème de Cassis, which is a black currant liqueur, adds a distinctive taste.

Even if you don’t have a special occasion coming up soon, make this delicious cake anyway. Just because.