Flourless Vanilla Bean Cake

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

The timing couldn’t have been more awful.  I haven’t had so much as a sniffle in 3 years and then I came down with a whopper of a flu right in the middle of our short visit with our daughter.  Yesterday I boarded the return flight armed with a wad of kleenex the size of a carry-on bag and settled into a hellish four hours of being sick as a dog but trying desperately not to show it.  I hate to admit it but I’m one of those people who glares at hackers, coughers, and sneezers on planes.  I would have been shooting daggers at myself for sure. Hopefully none of you were on Virgin America flight 233 from Chicago last night.  It was bad. But now I’m home and I’m ready to cook.  Something easy so I won’t keel over in the middle of making  it.  Those soft pretzels that I was planning to make the minute we touched down will have to wait. This cake is based on my absolutely insanely delicious Belgian Chocolate Cake, and if you haven’t taken  a look at that one, I suggest you do asap.   You’ll want to make it for the holidays, …

Ingredients

• 9 ounces good quality white chocolate cut in chunks
• 1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cut up
• 1⅓ cup sugar
• ½ cup almond flour (or regular flour)
• 5 large eggs, preferably room temperature, beaten with a whisk until well blended
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract (don’t skimp)
• seeds of a vanilla bean
• confectioner’s sugar or cocoa powder for sifting on top

Method

1. set the oven to 325F
2. Put the butter and then the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, and stir again. If it’s not completely melted, put it back in for another 30 seconds, and stir until the chocolate completely melts.
3. Add the sugar and flour to the chocolate, then the eggs, extract, and vanilla seeds and blend well. The mixture will thicken. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.
4. Pour into a well oiled 9 inch spring-form pan. Bake for about 55-60 minutes, until firm on top and cracks form across the surface. Cool on a rack briefly and then remove the outer ring.
5. Sift confectioner’s sugar or cocoa powder over the top.

View the recipe instructions at The View From the Great Island