GÂTEAU AU CHOCOLAT SUR LE GRIL
Yes, this lovely cake is baked on the grill, over a charcoal fire. It is tender and moist, without a hint of smoke. Why then, you say, bake it on the grill? Because the grill is already hot from grilling supper. So, you sit down and enjoy your grilled meal while dessert bakes in the residual— and not insignificant— heat of the barbecue. It makes life simple, easy, and delicious.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: 9 ½-inch (24- cm) heavy cake pan, gloves, stand mixer or whisk and large bowl, wire cooling rack, small pan
PREPARATION AND GRILLING TIME: About 40 minutes
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Simple
— Susan Herrmann Loomis
Excerpted from French Grill by Susan Herrmann Loomis. Published by The Countryman Press, a division of W.W. Norton & Company. © 2018 by Susan Herrmann Loomis. Photos by © 2018 Francis Hammond.
| Servings |
| 8 - 10 people |
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You can mix up the cake and put it in the pan well before you bake it, so it’s easy to put it on the grill while you’re having dinner. The cake will puff up nicely and look gorgeous, and then it will deflate and look less gorgeous. Don’t worry, you can make it lovely on the plate. When the cake has cooled to lukewarm, place a serving plate atop it and flip it. The cake will gently fall onto the plate. Decorate it with confectioners’ sugar and flower blossoms, and all will be well. Note: I recommend using a heavy, nonstick pan for this cake.
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- 6-1/2 ounces (200 g) semisweet (52 to 60%) chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 3-1/2 ounces (105 g) unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 1 generous pinch fine sea salt
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (120 g) vanilla sugar see recipe note
- 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for garnish
- Fresh edible flower blossoms, for garnish
- Preheat the grill to 350°F (180°C) or light a fire in the barbecue. Butter and flour a 9 1/2- inch (24-cm) round cake pan.
- Place the chocolate, butter, and salt in a small pan over low heat and melt them, stirring occasionally to be sure the chocolate isn’t sticking. (You can do this on the grill if there is room.) When the mixture is melted, remove it from the heat to let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the eggs until they are combined. Add the sugar and continue whisking until they are pale yellow and slightly foamy, which will take several minutes.
- When the chocolate mixture is cooled to lukewarm, fold it into the eggs and sugar until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, holding the bowl low over the pan so that the mixture doesn’t have to “fall” too far.
- When the coals are red and dusted with ash, divide them in the barbecue, putting half the coals on either side. Set the grill over the coals.
- Set the pan in the center of the grill. Cover and bake until the cake is puffed and slightly firm to the touch on top, which will take 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the grill and let cool to lukewarm before slicing.
Vanilla sugar: Pour 8 cups of sugar into an airtight container, and push 2 fresh vanilla beans or 4 used vanilla beans down into the sugar. Cover and let "ripen" for at least one week.
