Chocolate Pudding Cake With Bitterswseet Chocolate Sauce

---CHOCOLATE CAKE

--- 2 T Plus 3/4 C sugar

1/4 c Unsifted all-purpose flour

1/4 c Unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 t Baking powder

6 lg Eggs, at room temperature

--PUDDING

-- 4 c (1 quart) heavy cream

10 lg Egg yolks

3/4 c Sugar

1 1/2 c Semisweet chocolate chips

---SAUCE

--- 1 c (1/2 pint) heavy cream

1 1/2 c (about 8 oz) chopped

-bittersweet chocolate 2 T Grand Marnier or other

-orange-flavored liqueur 1. Day before serving, prepare and assemble Chocolate Cake and Pud-

ding. To prepare Chocolate Cake, grease a 10-inch springform pan; sprinkle inside greased pan with 2 tablespoons sugar. In medium-size bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, and baking powder; set aside. 2. Heat oven to 350F. In large bowl, with electric mixer, beat eggs

and rema@g 3/4 C sugar until double in volume 5 minutes. To prepare cake batter, gently fold flour mixture into egg mixture just until combined. Pour batter into prepared springform pan and bake cake 20 to 25 minutes or until center springs back when gently pressed with fingertip. 3. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and

cool completely on wire rack. 4. To prepare Pudding, in 2-quart saucepan, heat cream to boiling. In

large bowl, with wire whisk, beat egg yolks and sugar until well com- bined. Slowly beat hot cream into yolk mixture and pour all back into saucepan. Cook cream mixture over low heat until pudding coats a spoon. (Do not boil.) Remove pudding from heat and stir in chocolate chips until mixture is smooth. Cool to room temperature. 5. To assemble Chocolate Pudding Cake, cut cake horizontally into 3

equal slices. Line inside of cleaned springform pan with aluminum foil. Place top layer of cake in bottom of springform pan. Pour one-third of pudding over cake layer in pan. Top with middle cake layer and half of remaining pudding. Place bottom cake layer, bottom side up, in pan and top with remaining pudding. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight. 6. Heat oven to 300'F. Place springform pan with cake into large

roasting pan and remove plastic wrap. Pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come half way up side of springform pan. Bake Choco- late Pudding Cake 1 hour or until top of cake is glazed over. 7. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Cover loosely and

refriger- ate until well chilled. 8. Just before serving, prepare Sauce: In 2-quart saucepan, heat

cream to boiling. Remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate and Grand Marnier until smooth. Strain sauce and keep warm. If desired, prepare Chocolate Curls. 9. To serve, remove side of springform pan and slice cake into wedges;

place each wedge onto dessert plate. Top cake wedges with chocolate sauce and Chocolate Curls, if desired. Making Chocolate Curls Leave block or square of white or semisweet chocolate in warm room (800 to 85'F) for several hours or heat, repeatedly, in microwave oven 7 to 8 seconds just enough to soften chocolate slightly). Place softened square or block against paper towel in one hand; using a sharp vegetable peeler, dig one blade into edge or side of chocolate (depending on how wide you want your curls) and bring peeler towards you; chocolate should come off in curls. If chocolate is too cold it will splinter; if too warm it will not curl. Country Living Holidays/92 Scanned & fixed by Di Pahl &