Instructions: Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Butter a deep 9 inch/23 cm cake pan or springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Butter lightly again.

To make cake, chop bittersweet chocolate and cut up butter. Melt together in a bowl over gently simmering water.

In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup/125 mL sugar with egg yolks until light.

Stir in warm chocolate/butter mixture. Mix in pecans and flour. In separate bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until mounds begin to form. Slowly beat in remaining 1/4 cup/50mL sugar. Beat until stiff but not dry.

Stir one-third of egg whites into chocolate base to lighten it. Fold in remaining whites lightly. Spoon mixture gently into prepared pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out moist but not runny.

Cool cake in pan. Cake will be puffy and then fall, but dont worry.

For the glaze, chop bittersweet chocolate and place in a bowl over simmering water with the cream. Heat until melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly. It should still be pourable.

When the cake is cool, gently push edges down so the top is flat.

Turn cake out onto a serving platter that has a slight lip and leaves a 2 inch/5cm border around the cake. (The top of the cake has now become the bottom.) Brush off any crumbs and pour glaze on top of cake. Rotate cake slowly so glaze coats top and sides and excess runs off cake onto platter.

Melt white chocolate over simmering water. Pipe chocolate through paper cone or clean squeeze bottle into concentric circles over top of cake. Pipe one or two circles around cake in glaze on platter.

With end of chopstick or dull knife, swirl white chocolate and glaze into small circles. Serve at room temperature.

NOTES : The beauty of this cake is that if the glaze isnt perfect, no one will know! Let the glaze run onto the serving platter - it creates a stunning effect and covers any ragged edges. The swirls of white chocolate hide any imperfections. For presentation, arrange slices of strawberries, kiwi fruit, fresh figs or oranges down the side of each serving. You can use matzoh meal in place of flour in this recipe and serve the cake at Passover.

This recipe, from the
revised Bonnie Stern Desserts book, makes 8 to 10 servings.

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