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

the electric mixer. Add about one-third of the remaining whites. If you have an extra-large rubber spatula use it now. Slightly fold the two-mixtures together; do not be too thorough. Then add the remaining nuts and egg whites and fold them all together gently and carefully.
    Turn the batter into the unbuttered 10-inch tube pan, handling it lightly in order not to lose the air that has been beaten into it. Smooth the top.
    Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. During baking the top of the cake will rise in a dome shape, but it will flatten almost level with the top of the pan when done.
    Remove the pan from the oven.
    Now the pan has to be inverted to “hang” until the cake is cool. Even if the pan has three little legs for this purpose they don’t really raise the cake enough. Turn the pan (with the cake) upside down and fit the tube of the inverted pan over a narrow-necked bottle (a 5-ounce Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce bottle is a perfect fit) or place it over an inverted metal funnel.
    Now, to remove the cake from the pan: You will need a small sharp knife with a firm (it must be firm) blade about 6 inches long. And you must be careful. Insert the blade at the inside of the pan between the cake and the pan, inserting the blade all the way down to the bottom of the pan and pressing the blade firmly against the pan in order not to cut into or to crush the sides of the cake. With a short up and down motion (something like using a saw) cut all the way around the cake, remembering to keep pressing the blade against the pan constantly as you cut. Then remove the cake from the sides of the pan by pulling up on the tube and/or by placing your hands under the bottom of the pan and pushing the bottom up. And then, carefully, again pressing the blade against the pan, cut the bottom of the cake away from the pan. Now cut around the tube of the pan.
    Cover the cake with a flat serving plate and invert the plate and the cake. Remove the bottom of the pan.
    I serve this wonderful cake just as it is. If you want to sprinkle the top with confectioners sugar, do it, leaving the cake upside down. Or make a design with strips of wax paper, sprinkle with confectioners sugar, and then remove the strips of paper (see page 7).
    To serve the cake, use a serrated bread knife in order not to squash this extremely light creation.
    NOTES : 1. If you do not have the right size eggs, you can use any size. What you want is 1£ cups of egg whites and a scant 1 cup of egg yolks.
    2. Because removing this cake from the pan is such a ticklish job, I have been asked, “Why don’t you butter the pan?” The reason is that the cake is so light and airy that it must cling to the sides of the pan or it will flop.
    3. To freeze this cake, do it before removing the cake from the pan. Just wrap it all airtight in the pan. Then thaw before removing the cake from the pan.
    The Orient Express Chocolate Torte
    12 P ORTIONS
     
    This was served on the Orient Express during its heyday when it was renowned for luxurious food and service. It is a wonderfully not-too-sweet flourless sponge cake made with ground almonds and ground chocolate that give it a speckled tweed-like appearance and a light, dry, crunchy texture—enhanced by a smooth, rich, chocolate buttercream filling and icing. It may be frozen iced.
3 ounces (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate
7½ ounces (1½ cups) unblanched almonds
5 eggs (graded large), separated, plus 2 egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
    Adjust rack one-third up from bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter a 9 × 3-inch spring-form pan or a one-piece 9 × 2½- or 9 × 3-inch cake pan, line the bottom with baking-pan liner paper or wax paper cut to fit, butter the paper, dust all over with fine, dry bread crumbs, invert to shake out excess, and set the pan aside.
    The chocolate and almonds must be finely ground. First chop the chocolate coarsely and then grind it with the almonds in a food processor fitted