Free Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts by Maida Heatter

oven. Remove the sides of the pan. Cover the cake with a rack and invert. Then remove the bottom of the pan and the paper lining. Now gently place a large, flat cake plate or serving board on the cake and carefully invert plate and cake, leaving the cake right side up on the plate. The cake will be 1½ inches high.
    Now, about camouflaging the cake. It should be served at room temperature—it has a softer and more delicate quality than if it is refrigerated. But if it is covered with whipped cream it will naturally have to be refrigerated.
    That leaves two alternatives.
    Either wait until just before serving to spread the cream over the top and sides of the cake. Or, if you don’t expect most of the cake to be eaten at the first serving, cut the cake in the kitchen and place large spoonfuls of the cream alongside each portion.
    Either way, you may also sprinkle the cream with a few candied violets or rose petals or a dainty sprinkling of shaved chocolate. (At Le Français the cake is served plain with just a sprinkling of confectioners sugar on the top, but I do think it tastes better with whipped cream.)

WHIPPED CREAM
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup strained confectioners sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip all the ingredients until the cream is stiff enough to be spread over the cake. Or, if it is to be served on the side, whip it a bit less so it has the consistency of a sauce.
    The cream may be whipped ahead of time and refrigerated. If so, it will probably separate slightly. Just stir it a bit with a wire whisk before using.
    Austrian Chocolate Walnut Torte
    10 TO 12 P ORTIONS
     
    This is special! It is a huge (over 4 inches high) flourless chocolate nut sponge cake that is not too sweet and is served without icing … the cake itself is pure drama.
7 ounces semisweet chocolate
8 ounces (2¼ cups) walnuts
12 eggs (graded large), separated (see Notes)
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
    Adjust rack one-third up from bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need an angel-food cake pan that measures 10 inches across the top and 4¼ inches in depth. It must not be coated with Teflon. And it must be the kind that comes in two pieces, the bottom and tube being in one piece and the sides in another piece. Do not butter the pan.
    Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until the chocolate is partially melted, then uncover and stir until completely melted.
    Remove the top of the double boiler and set it aside for the chocolate to cool slightly.
    The nuts must be ground. This can be done in a nut grinder, a food processor, or a blender. In a food processor or a blender you must be careful not to grind the nuts until they become oily—they must stay dry. They do not have to be very finely powdered but they must be ground, not chopped. Uneven pieces, some a little larger, are O.K. (In a blender do only one-third or one-half at a time. In a processor you can do them all together.) Set the prepared nuts aside.
    In the small bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg yolks with ½ cup (reserve ½ cup) of the sugar at high speed for 2 minutes. (Do not beat until the mixture becomes very thick.) On low speed mix in the chocolate (which may be warm but not hot). Then gradually add about half the nuts (reserve the remaining nuts). Remove the bowl from the mixer and set it aside.
    Place the egg whites in the large bowl of the electric mixer and add the salt. With clean beaters, beat until the whites barely hold a soft shape. Reduce the speed to moderate and gradually add the reserved ½ cup of sugar. Then, at high speed, continue to beat until the whites hold a firm shape but not until they are stiff or dry.
    With a rubber spatula fold one large spoonful of the whites into the chocolate mixture. Then fold in a second large spoonful.
    Now transfer the chocolate mixture to a mixing bowl that is larger than the large bowl of