Quatre-Quarts au Chocolat de Juliette (Chocolate Pound Cake)

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 325ºF. Butter and flour 7” (5-cup) Bundt, Kugelhupf, or other high-sided tube pan. Melt 4 oz. fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped, with 5 Tbsp. cold water in a small metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (bowl should not touch water), stirring, until mixture is smooth. Remove bowl from heat and set aside.

   Step 2

   Cream 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened, and ½ cup (100 g) sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer, until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in 2 large egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix until eggs are light yellow and mixture falls in thick ribbons when beater is raised, 3–5 minutes. With mixer on low, beat in the chocolate mixture.

   Step 3

   Sift 1 cup pre-sifted cake flour (120 g) and ¼ cup (24 g) almond flour into a small bowl. Beat flour mixture into the yolk mixture in 3 batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition; transfer mixture to a large bowl.

   Step 4

   In the cleaned mixer bowl, beat 3 large egg whites with one pinch kosher salt until whites just hold stiff peaks (don’t overwhip, or the cake won’t rise). Stir ¼ of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently but thoroughly fold in the remaining whites. Spoon cake batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Place the pan in a deep roasting pan and add enough hot water to the roasting pan to reach halfway up the side of the cake pan. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove cake pan from the water bath and let cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out onto the rack and let it cool completely. Serve cake with lightly whipped cream (if using).

   Editor’s note: This recipe has been edited to clarify the creaming method used and address the absence of chemical leaveners. The egg yolks should be beaten to the ribbon stage, while the egg whites should be beaten until just stiff but not dry. Fully beaten egg whites will be at maximum volume and cannot rise once placed in the oven. Careful execution of these two steps will produce a cake with a spongy, light texture, precluding the need for baking soda or powder.