Flourless Chocolate Cake for Valentine's Day

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (dark, semisweet, milk or a mixture of milk and dark chocolates)
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs slightly beaten
• ½ cup cocoa powder (I like dark cocoa powder)
• The rest are optional
• 2 tsp. of espresso powder for the coffee lovers out there!
• Ground up freeze dried raspberry or strawberry powder for decoration (Trader Joe's sells them)
• Powdered sugar for decoration
• Fresh strawberries, raspberries or pomegranate seeds for serving
• Whipped cream or ice cream for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line an 8” round cake pan (or pan of your choice: heart shaped pan or muffin tins) with parchment paper and grease with a non-stick spray. Keep ready.
3. Add the butter and chocolate into a microwave safe glass bowl and heat until the butter is melted and the chocolate is mostly melted. Be sure to use half power on the microwave so the chocolate does not burn. Stir the mixture until the chocolate fully melts.  If you need to, reheat in 10 second intervals until you have a smooth consistency. You could also melt the chocolate using a double boiler.
4. Add the sugar, salt and vanilla. If using the espresso powder, add it here. Stir to combine. Add the eggs. Mix well.
5. Add the cocoa powder and gently mix until incorporated. Do not over-mix.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. The top may have slight cracks and form a crispy crust. The center should still be just slightly fudgy (but this isn’t a lava cake–so it shouldn’t be runny in the center).
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then loosen the edges with a butter knife (use a plastic one if your pan is non-stick!)
8. Let the cake cool completely .
9. If using freeze dried berries, grind them in a food processor or use a mortar and pestle. 
10. For the heart stencil, cut a heart out of a piece of heavy paper, place it on top of the cake and using a small sieve, sprinkle the inside of the heart with the ground freeze dried raspberries or powdered sugar. Serve with fresh raspberries or strawberries, whipped cream or ice cream.